Listen! - A Reflection on Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Those who watch the videos of these reflections might have noticed that I begin reading every Scripture passage by saying: Listen! That’s because, as G. K. Chesterton said, “there’s a lot of difference between hearing and listening.” What’s the difference? Hearing is simply the act of receiving sounds by the ear. If we are not deaf, hearing simply happens. Listening, however, is something we consciously choose to do. It requires concentration so that our brain processes meaning from words and sentences. 

Jesus would often preface his sentences by telling his audience to “Listen!” In today’s passage, we find God, the Father telling us to listen to Jesus. “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.” And Jesus, himself, had at one point advised: “Consider carefully how you listen” (Luke 8:18), because listening is important. However, most of us are very poor listeners. Which is a pity, because we are not going to be able to listen to the things God says if we can’t listen to the things that people say. 

It would help us immensely to remember that good listening is an act of love. If we keep this in mind, and make an effort to listen the next time our spouses or our children or our parents talk to us, instead of looking at the TV and grunting, “uh, uh”, it will make a huge difference to our relationship with them. Try it and see. Good listening is also an act of godly ministry. When a person sees that we are actually listening to what they are saying, they are tremendously comforted.

Good listening also helps us to learn. I remember reading a quote from somebody who became very rich and famous — unfortunately, I can’t recall who it was; let me know if you know  — where the person said that the reason he didn’t speak too much was because when he spoke, he could only talk about what he knew. But when he listened to others talk he could learn something he didn’t know. I thought that was pretty profound, and I have noticed that most of the wise people I have met listen more than they talk. 

But the most important listening we can do is to the things that Jesus says. One time, he said: “The words “I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” Let us listen to them.

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/z2T9HETI4ms