Apr

8

Hearing What We Don’t Want to Hear

April 8, 2008 |

Tough Comments 

Today’s first reading (Acts 7) has St. Stephen telling it straight to the people of Jerusalem.  They get so ticked off by what he has to say and how close he is to the truth that they go after him.

So, what does he have to say?  “you stiff-necked people” - ”uncircumcised in heart and ears” - “you always oppose the Holy Spirit” - “you are just like your ancestors” - “which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?” - “they put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one” - ”whose betrayers and murderers you have now become” - “you received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.

Ouch!  This stuff stings - even by our modern course standards.  So, are we surprised at the response?  They were “infuriated” - they “ground their teeth” - they “covered their ears.”

And in the crowd was Saul - cheering them on.

So, what was St. Stephen’s response when they started in on him - he was filled with the Holy Spirit and forgave his killers.

Being too Afraid to Hear 

There is just so much for us to take from this epic story.  To me, it’s important for us to ask ourselves - why are we so afraid of hearing what we don’t want to hear?

I bet most of us are just too afraid to say what needs to be said and too afraid to hear what we need to hear.  I bet we cover our ears and get mad when we are taken to task for our actions.  We don’t want to be told that there is a right and a wrong - we don’t want to be told that we’re screwing up - we don’t want to deal with the truth. 

Now, with all of this said - St. Stephen probably could have used a little more tact.  Often times we reach others better with a soft-touch instead of going at them full bore.  So, the moral of this story isn’t so much in figuring out whether we should be as blunt as St. Stephen - it’s in figuring out if we are too much like the folks who threw the stones - or worse, too much like Saul who should have known better.

We have to be willing to listen to the Holy Spirit, the Pope, bishops, parish priests, wives, family, friends - anyone that can hold us to the path - hold us to accountability.  We can’t be afraid of correction by others.  Life is too hard to try and go it alone - and we go it alone if we do not have a someone who can let us know when we are getting off the straight and narrow. 

By the same token, we can’t be afraid to be that someone to a wife, friend or family member who brings them back to the path when they stray.  You don’t have to be as in your face as St. Stephen, but Christ may be calling you to help that someone else avoid some bad choices in their lives just as he may be calling someone else to help you avoid bad choices in yours.

Let’s not be afraid to reach out to others close to us who we see screwing up - but doing so in the best way that will help them.  We don’t have to alienate them in the process, but sometimes they just need to know that they are not getting things right and need to fix whatever it is that they are doing wrong.


Comments

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind