Hearing Aid

Fourth Sunday of Easter
25 April 2010


The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.


First reading Acts 13:14,43-52 3
Paul and Barnabas carried on from Perga till they reached Antioch in Pisidia. Here they went to synagogue on the sabbath and took their seats. When the meeting broke up many Jews and devout converts joined Paul and Barnabas and in their talks with them Paul and Barnabas urged them to remain faithful to the grace God had given them.
The next sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of God. When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly. ‘We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans. For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said:
I have made you a light for the nations,
so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’
It made the pagans very happy to hear this and they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside.
But the Jews worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in defiance and went off to Iconium; but the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 99:1-3,5

Second reading Apocalypse 7:9,14-17
I, John, saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. One of the elders said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb, they now stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun nor scorching wind will ever plague them, because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.’

Gospel John 10:27-30
Jesus said:
‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;
I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life;
they will never be lost
and no one will ever steal them from me.
The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone,
and no one can steal from the Father.
The Father and I are one.’

Reflection
By Grace Madriñan

My mother has a hearing problem for a long time now that she got used to quiet solitude. Most of the time, she does not respond to our call or question unless you wave at her to get her attention. When I finally had some budget, I accompanied her to the doctor so she gets a hearing aid. At first, she was hesitant. Even with the hearing aid, she had difficulty responding or understanding our voice during the trial fitting. "It is all noise" she said, and that it was irritating. But I insisted that she still gets it because I believed her comprehension and hearing will improve in time.

Soon enough, my mother became used to having this gadget tucked in her ear. She started hearing the noise around the house. “Has it always been this noisy?” one day she asked. Later on, the noise started to become clearer and she began to recognize them even without looking. She has managed to filter the sounds in her mind and segregate the noise from those that matter listening to. The best day came when she finally turns and responds when she hears our call.

I believe we all need our hearing aids too. Sometimes, we are drowned with the noise of this world that we become deaf to things worth listening for. And because of this, we fail to hear God’s voice. He may have already given us clear instructions but we failed to recognize them. This is why we need to put on our hearing aids which may come in different forms: the Eucharist, the Bible, religious and inspirational readings, and music as well as our Catholic communities. The more we are exposed to any of these ‘hearing aids’, the more we will be able to recognize His voice in our lives, and the more we will respond to His call.

As it is written in today’s Gospel, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

Father, thank You for being patient with us. Often we choose to listen to the call of this world rather than Your voice, yet You continuously reach out to us through different mediums. May we single out Your voice and recognize You through the depths of our hearts. In Jesus’ name, this we pray. Amen.

Next week on God-speak
Live Life For Others