Jesus said to His disciples in the Gospel of Matthew 13:10-17…
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
We have the great benefit of reading and pondering the words of the Word made flesh. So when we read the above passage, we can know that Jesus is speaking to us as one of His disciples. Why are our eyes blessed? We have never seen Jesus in the flesh. Why are our ears blessed? We have never heard the actual voice of Jesus.
What we have seen and heard is Jesus revealed to us in scripture, our spouse, our children, our brothers and sisters, our neighbors and even our enemies. He is revealed in nature and in every gift we have been given. Do we hear and recognize His voice through others? Do we see and recognize Him in others?
God is everywhere! In today’s first reading from Exodus 19, He spoke to Moses and His people from the mountain. I do not think anyone had a problem hearing God…
“there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled…The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God answering him with thunder.”
I think today God speaks more in whispers and I must be open to receive His grace to open my eyes and ears to His presence in all things. At times, I am able to see and hear God most clearly when I let go and surrender myself to His will. When I hold onto my selfish tendencies and seek my own self gratification, I lose sight of God and seek my own will which takes me down paths where the only way Jesus can get my attention, for my own good, is with trumpet blasts, smoke, thunder and some trembling and sometimes that can hurt.
Seeking To Reflect Jesus 