One of my favorite episodes of the classic television series MASH involved the main character, Hawkeye Pierce. Called to help light a fire in the old heater in the nurse’s tent, the heater unexpectedly explodes and Hawkeye is blinded. At first, Hawkeye is bitter; after all he is a skilled surgeon and blindness threatened his career. He then encounters a soldier in the recovery tent who has also been blinded. Incidentally, the soldier was played by a blind real-life actor named Tom Sullivan.
Through his example, Hawkeye begins to feel less sorry for himself. Later on, in one amazing scene he describes with such beauty the noises and sounds he has experienced while blind.
We have heard this through countless studies of how the blind, many times, are gifted with a superior sense of hearing. We all can recall the amazing talents of blind entertainers like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. Their unique sense of hearing, coupled with their talent, has made them among the best singers of our lifetime.
Hearing is, unfortunately for many of us, our most under utilized sense. WE may need to be reminded over and over; God gave us a mouth to speak but two ears to hear.
As people of faith, do we hear Jesus? Do we hear His words? And possibly, do we hear Him personally calling us?
Today’s readings are all about hearing. The first reading from Nehemiah finds the prophet Ezra reading from the Old Testament and we hear that the people listened to him for 6 hours. 6 hours!! And some of you think my homilies are long?!? Nehemiah comes into the picture tells the people that today is holy to the Lord because the people HEARD the words of the law. Hearing is important to the Lord.
St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Corinthians that all parts of the body are needed to make the body work. He asks what good would the body be without the ear. Again, St. Paul values HEARING.
And our Gospel gives us Jesus reading in the temple from a scroll upon which are the prophetic words about Him; from the prophet Isaiah. Notice how this encounter in the synagogue happens on the Sabbath. This is a lesson for all Christians. God the Son, Jesus himself, believed in going to church and obeying God’s will. This is the model we are called to follow. Another model in that synagogue was that Jesus read and the people HEARD. How many times are the words of Scripture proclaimed in our church yet we fail to hear? Proclaiming and hearing is the rhythm that God designed for his Word.
The Gospel we have just HEARD is in effect the first homily of Jesus. He must have read the passage from Isaiah with great skill or passion as we notice the eyes of all His hearers looked intently at Him. And then here comes the homily:
Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing!
When we HEARD this Gospel proclaimed right here right now, did we HEAR Jesus say: I am your Messiah, I am your Savior. Jesus’ words were clear: He is who He says He is!
So what are we called to do as we leave Mass today and enter into another week of the real world where our hearing is challenged by the noise of everyday life? We are called to reexamine our faith life and take stock if we are, first, hearers of the Word and then doers of the Word. Who among us can even recall the Gospel or the homily as we leave church? One day after Mass, I was thanked for my profound words of wisdom in my homily. One problem: I did not preach the homily that Sunday.
We can reflect once or twice this week on this very Gospel passage. And our question should be, is Jesus fulfilled in my HEARING.
Also, we can take time this week to pick out just one person and truly make ourselves present to them by listening and hearing what they say and hearing what is truly on their heart.
And we can also learn to HEAR Christ in our lives by listening to His Church. We can HEAR the teachings from our Holy Father or our Bishop for they represent Christ here on earth.
And finally, if you are hearing a call from the Lord that may be inviting you to consider a religious vocation, listen intently. Perhaps God is asking you in a very personal way to serve Him and His people as a Priest, Deacon or religious.
Hawkeye Pierce, despite that accidental blindness, was given a great gift of enhanced hearing. May we also hear with our senses heightened.
After all, maybe Stevie Wonder was hearing God’s very words when he sang: I just called to say I love you!!
I enjoyed your homily very much!
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