Thursday of the Third Week of Lent - March 24, 2022

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Jeremiah 7:23-28     Luke 11:14-23

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart.” That refrain is one of my favorite psalms that we sing at Mass. It sounds so simple doesn’t it, especially when set to a nice lilting melody? But I find it much harder to put into practice.

I don’t know that I would ever deliberately choose to harden my heart to God’s voice; it sounds like such an obviously unwise act. But maybe the hardening isn’t so much an instantaneous decision as it is a series of small choices, stacked one upon the other. I’ll skip my prayer time this morning, there’s time later in the day. Missing Mass every so often isn’t so bad. I can just ignore that little nudge that’s telling me to help someone. Overlooking the miraculous to focus on the mundane minutiae of today’s world.

It’s easy for me to imagine that I would never behave as some people in today’s Gospel reading. How could they be anything but overjoyed for a man who was mute, and could now speak? But I think about how unsettling it must have been. How it could have upended what they thought they knew. How much more convenient to wave it off, or demand a test to prove that it was real.

So often the voice of God that I long to hear is one of comfort. But in my experience, sometimes His voice is one of challenge and change, and those things can be far from comforting. I suspect we’ve all gone through phases of life that were heartbreaking for all that they required from us and those we love.

But the ultimate consolation is that His voice is always one of truth – our hearts just need to be ready to accept it. And I believe God gives us countless chances to do just that. All those small choices, day after day. So that our hearts may be soft enough to know his voice, and sturdy enough to build our lives on it.

Q: How can I soften my heart to God’s voice? What can I do better to hear God’s words?

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