Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling while. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.   

In a sense, Prot of the movie “K-Pax” was a prophet. The alleged alien from the planet K-Pax challenged the people he met, especially the complacent doctor, Dr. Mark Powell. He challenged him because, even though a psychologist, he was not practiced in the art of listening. Both Dr. Powell’s own wife and Prot tell him during this session that he was not into really listening, even though his line of work called for him to do it well. 

Psychologists agree that one of our major problems with maturity is the fact that we do not listen to what other people say. It is the principal problem in communication; it is the destroyer of marriages. Perhaps it is even more interesting to discuss why listening is a problem. Those who study human behavior often feel that human beings simply do not want to listen to what the other person is saying. Throwing up all kinds of psychological and sometimes physical barriers, human beings avoid hearing what the other wants to convey.

Most of the time not listening has critical effects, especially when we should be listening to the other. For example, we should listen to prophets. They say things that can help us. The people of Israel should have listened to the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. Likewise the people of modern times should listen to the prophets of our era, namely, those people who say things that can help us grow more effectively.

For the Christian, the ultimate prophet, of course, is Jesus. If there is anyone to whom Christians must listen, it is the person that they believe to be the Son of God, Jesus Christ. In the Transfiguration scene, God gives the simple directive to the apostles: “Listen to him.”

Two thousand years ago already, Stoic philosopher Epictetus said that “nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak.” If there is one virtue we must learn for all of life, it is the virtue of listening. We learn that virtue, and we will be able to understand the prophets who are around us.                      

THOUGHT
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you tell us to listen to your Son. Often we do not listen as we should. Help us not only listen to him better, but to practice the art of listening in our daily lives as well. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America