Sing: If today you hear God’s voice, harden hearts. (repeat)
How do we hear God’s voice? Abraham heard it in the first reading. Jesus along with Peter, James and John heard it in the gospel, with the wonderful directive for us to listen to him.
So whether we shall listen to Jesus or to God, or to the Holy Spirit . . . how do we do it? Well let me explain how.
First of all, think of how you have heard God talking to you in the past. Start there, because that could be God’s approach. So go back to that style and listen.
But let’s say that you have NEVER heard God talk to you in the past. That’s fine, but I believe that God is constantly trying to communicate with us . . . 24/7. All day and night, God wants to connect, but it’s us who are not letting God in. And NOT that God isn’t trying.
Figure out HOW you would like to hear God. By that I mean, what style or technique would convince you that it is God. For example if you need to hear God’s in scripture, that is, written out . . . then I say SHOW UP. Let God use scripture. But that doesn’t mean to have a questions or problem and flip open the bible to get a message. No, that’s just goofy. But read the scriptures! Follow along with the scripture that the Church is using. Or start with ONE book of the bible and commit to reading it.
There are also many “Bible In a Year” services. There is one online from Fr. Mike Schmitz which he reads, so you don’t even have to read anything. Just listen.
But if you will FINALLY believe that God can talk to you through the bible . . . then SHOW UP. Pay attention. You will hear God’s voice.
But let’s say, that you want to hear God’s voice through music . . . then listen to appropriate music, especially Christian music. God WILL convey a message. But it’s not to approach God with a problem, then turn on the radio and expect an answer. NO, but it is to commit to listen to songs . . . and eventually a message will come. I guarantee it. Trust.
Now, the method that works for me is to journal. And I will simply ask God a question in the form of a dialogue and then let God respond. And what God says is so powerful and wonderful. It is NOT me forming the words, it comes from a source way beyond me. Try it. But ONLY if you are ready to hear it.
So how do you know that what you are hearing is OF God and not simply your imagination? If the message you hear is too harsh, shaming or diminishing of yourself or others it is not likely the voice of God. That is simply your own voice. Why do we assume that shaming voice is from God and that grace voices are the imagination? Shaming, accusing, or blaming is simply not how God talks. It is how we talk.
If something comes toward you with grace and can pass through you and towards others with grace, you can trust it as the voice of God.
We must listen to what is supporting us. We must listen to what is encouraging us. We must listen to what is urging us. We must listen to what is alive in us. God is supremely non-violent and that what so many of our saints understood.
All through Lent we are honoring various saints. One is St. Katherine Drexel, who founded an order to help Native people here it the USA. The other saint this week, is Francis of Assisi. He’s my favorite saint. He He was a wealthy spoiled brat, who after recovering from a war wound, heard the voice of God who said, asked him to “repair my Church.” He took it literally at first, but later came to realize that repairing meant to restore the dignity and focus of the entire Catholic Church.
So what kind of voice does God use? It might be an audible voice like Francis heard, and I did also back in 1978 that set my course for priesthood. But generally it is in your imagination or your inner voice.
Another famous saint is Joan of Arc. She heard God’s voice that directed her to lead the French army in battle. Well, eventually the church authorities thought that she was nuts. They asked her if her “hearing the voice of God, was simply her imagination?” She answered, “well how else would God speak to me?”
Many of us are conditioned to think to write off these inner voice as emotions, religious conditioning or psychological manipulation. Perhaps they are sometimes, but most often they are not. God talk seems to be ‘beneath us’.
For centuries God has been taking through dreams. Maybe that’s how God will talk to you tonight. Listen. Be open.
Finally, there is the issue of why God would talk to you. I believe that God has been trying to communicate with you since your conception. You are valued, cherished by God . . .not because of your greatness, or smartness or goodness but as St Francis humbly admitted: God could not have chosen anyone less qualified, or more of a sinner, than myself. And so, for this wonderful work He intends to perform through us, He selected me- for God always chooses the weak and the absurd, and those who count for nothing.
Sing: If today you hear God’s voice, harden hearts. (repeat)