We’re being bombarded.
That’s a pretty apt metaphor today.
For the constant, unrelenting, barrage of messages directed at us.
Bombarded with advertisements, with spam and popups on our phones and computers.
Bombarded with insignificant news items that we’re supposed to get excited about.
Bombarded with partisan/ideological messages to draw us or lock us in to one camp or another.
We don’t usually experience bombardment as a good thing—but it can be.
Like when we’re bombarded with messages from God.
Not just when we hear or read the Scriptures.
God’s messages are always coming at us, always there for us to hear.
In nature, in the world and the people and the happenings around us.
We can hear them in other ways than just with our ears and our minds.
All of our senses constantly confirm the presence of God and His messages.
A message might come to us through a sight or a smell or a taste or a thought or a feeling.
But it would still be fair to say we heard the message.
All four of our Scripture readings today relate to these messages between the Lord and us.
Jonah heard the Lord command him to go to Nineveh.
And finally, with this second call, he listened, he acted, he went.
When he got there, he heard another message from the Lord.
The warning message he was to relay to the people of Nineveh.
Again he acted on what he heard.
He delivered that message from the Lord.
The Ninevites didn’t hear the warning message directly from the voice of the Lord.
But some voice within them did convince them to accept Jonah as a true messenger.
And they heard, and listened, and acted—they repented.
Our Psalm takes communication in the other direction, asking the Lord to listen to our voice.
The Alleluia verse says,
Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.
And in our Gospel passage we hear that:
Mary … sat beside the Lord at his feet, listening to him speak.
And that in listening,
Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.
Maybe those four readings taken together give us a good formula for communicating with God.
Three parts listening and one part talking.
Today, let’s tune in to that bombardment of messages from God.
What are they saying?
They’re not all commands and warnings.
Most are messages sent to comfort us, guide us, and assure us of His love and presence.
Let’s really listen throughout this day, and see how many of those message we can hear.
Tuesday 27th Week Ordinary Time
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