A homily on Luke 8:16-18, beginning with a meditation class story, showing how hearing with the heart makes God’s word shine like light in our lives. (22-9-25)
Praise be to Jesus Christ
Once there was a group of students who joined a meditation class. On the first day, the teacher told them, “Sit quietly and hear the sounds around you.” They heard the obvious things — footsteps in the corridor, the creak of a chair, a dog barking outside. Then the teacher said, “Now listen more carefully.” Slowly, they began to notice softer sounds — the rustle of leaves, the call of a bird, the hum of insects.
This practice continued for many days. Finally, the teacher asked the students what they had learned. One of them said, “At first I could only hear noise. But after these days of practice, listening has become easier. Now I can hear the music of nature itself.”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Then pay attention to how you hear.” Some translations say, “Then pay attention to how you listen.” while hearing is the activity of the ear listening is the activity of the heart. And it is the fact that as we listen with the heart, even ordinary sounds become music, and even ordinary words become light.
Jesus connects listening with light. He says no one lights a lamp and hides it under a jar. The lamp must be placed where it can shine. In the same way, when we listen carefully to God’s word, it becomes a lamp within us. That light naturally shines in our speech, our actions, and our relationships. But if we only hear without listening, the lamp remains hidden and our life remains unchanged.
In the Old Testament, Samuel heard a voice in the night. At first he thought it was Eli. Only when he said, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” did the word of God truly enter him. Because he listened, Samuel became a light for Israel.
In our families too, hearing and listening make a big difference. Parents may hear their children speaking but may not listen to their real struggles. Husbands and wives may hear each other’s words but fail to listen to each other’s hearts. When there is only hearing, families remain full of noise but empty of light. When there is listening, love shines like a lamp in the home.
The saints remind us of this truth. Saint Benedict began his Rule with the word “Listen.” Saint Teresa of Calcutta said, “God speaks in the silence of the heart.” Listening is not easy. It takes practice, like the student in the meditation class. But once the heart learns to listen, it discovers the music of God’s word everywhere.
Jesus also gives us a promise and a warning: “To those who have, more will be given, and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.” If we listen with care, God multiplies his grace in us. If we only hear without attention, even our little spark of faith may fade.
The student in the meditation class discovered that careful listening revealed hidden music. In the same way, careful listening to God’s word reveals hidden light. It is not enough to hear. We must pay attention to how we hear. That is the path from noise to music, from sound to word, from darkness to light.
My Jesus, help me to listen with heart that I may become a light for others. Amen.
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God Bless..
