{"id":274632,"date":"2018-01-27T12:26:55","date_gmt":"2018-01-27T17:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleteia.org\/?post_type=post&p=274632"},"modified":"2018-01-27T12:26:55","modified_gmt":"2018-01-27T17:26:55","slug":"hearing-the-voice-that-matters-homily-for-january-28-2018-4th-sunday-in-ordinary-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2018\/01\/hearing-the-voice-that-matters-homily-for-january-28-2018-4th-sunday-in-ordinary-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing the voice that matters: Homily for January 28, 2018, 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

On March 21, 2006, a social media pioneer Jack Dorsey did something no one had ever done before\u2014and it had a profound impact on all of us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He sent out the first Tweet.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust setting up my Twttr,\u201d he wrote. The rest is history.<\/p>\n

As of this month, Twitter reports there are 500 million Tweets per day sent from around the world.<\/p>\n

There are 100 million daily active Twitter users.<\/p>\n

One of them, of course, is President Trump, who has 47 million Twitter followers.<\/p>\n

Not far behind is Pope Francis, with 40 million followers in nine different languages.<\/p>\n

We live in an age when communication is instantaneous, when no thought goes unexpressed, when more voices are being heard by more people\u2014for better or worse. And a lot of it is happening\u2014again, for better or worse\u2014on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other kinds of social media.<\/p>\n

We are inundated with information: sound, images and words. It could be argued that words have never been more powerful or pervasive than right now.<\/p>\n

But if you want to know the true power of words, consider one word uttered by Jesus in this Gospel we just heard\u2014a word that changed a life and that actually made history:<\/p>\n

\u201cQuiet.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

With that one command, the man who would go on to calm a storm at sea calms the raging storms inside one anonymous figure in the synagogue.<\/p>\n

With that one word, a miracle of healing will begin.<\/p>\n

Forget all the trillions of words cluttering up your cell phone, voices crying out for attention. Here is the voice of authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuiet.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great irony, really: the scriptures this weekend again and again call us to listen to God, to hear his voice, to attend to his teaching. But the word that commands the most attention is a call for silence.<\/p>\n

It certainly got the attention of the people in the synagogue\u2014and the man possessed. Sometimes God\u2019s most astonishing work needs silence. It can set the stage for miracles.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know much more about this particular episode in Mark\u2019s gospel. The man possessed by an unclean spirit is one of those characters in scripture who appears, and then vanishes. Like so many who encounter Christ and are changed forever, he\u2019s never heard from again. We don\u2019t\u00a0learn what happened to him.<\/p>\n

But maybe we don\u2019t need to know.<\/p>\n

What matters is that he encountered Christ and was transformed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In that sense, it is a story that should resonate with each of us.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s significant, I think, that this early miracle in Christ\u2019s ministry\u2014the first one Mark tells us about\u2014is profoundly personal. It didn\u2019t entail feeding thousands or bringing someone back from the dead. No, this is one-on-one, and it involved an interior transformation.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s also significant that this event took place in the synagogue\u2014place of prayer, teaching and tradition. It reminds us that Jesus was a faithful Jew\u2014and part of a particular culture and history.<\/p>\n

On one level, of course, this event is a morality lesson. It is about good conquering evil. But it also involves a conversion of heart and mind and spirit.<\/p>\n

It is the healing of a troubled soul.\u00a0<\/strong>At the very outset of his public ministry,\u00a0Jesus gave the gift of peace.<\/p>\n

Even now, he offers comfort to the anxious, calm to the distressed, hope to those in despair.<\/p>\n

How many of us here today need that message? The world is starving\u00a0for it. We live in a time when many are suffering from demons they might not even be able to name.<\/p>\n

But this gospel offers us reassurance. Whatever unclean spirits might be afflicting us, Jesus\u00a0can call them out.<\/p>\n

His first word to that troubled man is his word to all of us, no matter what may be possessing us: Quiet. That is where the great work begins.<\/p>\n

Confronting this Gospel today, we need to ask ourselves: what parts of our lives do we need to make quiet? What inner demons, what unclean spirits, are keeping us from hearing God?<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s jealousy. Pride. Lust. Maybe it\u2019s prejudice or hatred toward those who are different.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s even fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the future. Fear of trusting God\u2019s will in our lives.<\/p>\n

How can we make ourselves more open to truly hearing his word, and letting it change our lives?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pray to make that happen, to tune out whatever is getting in the way, to lower the volume of daily life and find times to be quiet with God.<\/p>\n

Honestly: stepping away from social media can be a good start. And I say that as one who makes his living working in social media.<\/p>\n

This week, Pope Francis issued his annual Message for World Communications Day<\/a> <\/strong>and talked about how \u201cFake News\u201d is infecting our media. He invited everyone to promote a \u201cjournalism of peace,\u201d a journalism, he explained \u201ccreated by people for people, one that is at the service of all, especially those \u2013 and they are the majority in our world \u2013 who have no voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

I might add, in the words from today\u2019s psalm, \u201cIf today you hear his <\/u>voice, harden not your hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our culture today, indeed the very culture perpetrated by social media, can harden our hearts and deaden our consciences and give rise to anger, conflict, hatred, and even despair.<\/p>\n

It can be the root cause of unclean spirits.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t need to be that way.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis, at the end of his message, composed a prayer modeled on the familiar \u201cPrayer of St. Francis.\u201d He prayed:<\/p>\n

Lord, make us instruments of your peace\u2026<\/p>\n

where there is shouting, let us practise listening;
\nwhere there is confusion, let us inspire harmony;
\nwhere there is ambiguity, let us bring clarity;
\nwhere there is exclusion, let us offer solidarity;
\nwhere there is sensationalism, let us use sobriety;
\nwhere there is superficiality, let us raise real questions;
\nwhere there is prejudice, let us awaken trust;
\nwhere there is hostility, let us bring respect;
\nwhere there is falsehood, let us bring truth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of all the voices echoing around the world right now, the one that matters, truly matters, is that one that quieted that troubled soul in the synagogue 2,000 years ago. The one who spoke with authority\u2014and still speaks to us today.<\/p>\n

As we gather around this table of sacrifice and raise our <\/em>voices together in expectation and hope, may we do it with hearts that have heard that<\/em> voice.<\/p>\n

May we allow the word of God to quiet our own fears or uncertainties, open the door to our hearts, and let him in.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On March 21, 2006, a social media pioneer Jack Dorsey did something no one had ever done before\u2014and it had a profound impact on all of us. He sent out the first Tweet. \u201cJust setting up my Twttr,\u201d he wrote. The rest is history. As of this month, Twitter reports there are 500 million Tweets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":272826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11252],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-274632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-open-mind"],"yoast_head":"\nHearing the voice that matters: Homily for January 28, 2018, 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On March 21, 2006, a social media pioneer Jack Dorsey did something no one had ever done before\u2014and it had a profound impact on all of us. 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