Daily reflection _ have we really heard?


HAVE WE REALLY HEARD?
There are different ways of accepting God's Word and they produce different kinds of fruit accordingly. Do we take time to listen or are we too busy to pray?   
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
It has been said that puns are the lowest form of humor. Usually, those who do not have the ability to create a pun repeat that statement. As a matter of fact, God Himself, through His prophet Nathan, made use of a pun to proclaim an important prophecy. King David was eager to build a house, a temple, for the Lord. Nathan, the prophet, told the king that it was actually God Who would build a house, a dynasty, for David! The prophetic pun is of great theological significance. It marks the beginning of a belief that God would send a kingly Messiah to His people, born of the house of David.
In fulfillment of this prophecy, Jesus, our King, is born of Mary, who is of the house of David. In addition, He was born in Bethlehem, the city of David; about a thousand years after the prophecy had been made. It took a long time for God to fulfill the prophecy, for He is very patient. In His eyes "a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, no more than a watch in the night" (Ps 90:4). Through all those years, as in all the years before them, God was working His plan for the sending of His Son.
The era of the Old Testament is important to us because it reveals the unfolding of God's loving plan. It is our history because the Chosen People are our ancestors just as surely as David is the ancestor of Jesus Himself. If we receive these words from the Old and New Testaments, they can be likened to a seed falling on good soil; they will fill our hearts with a greater love of God and help us grow in our understanding of the New Testament. These words were heard by our ancestors and we need to hear them, too, both the Old and the New.
Have we really heard? The Scriptures frequently use the image of fruit-bearing plants or trees to convey the principle of spiritual life and death. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit" (Jer 17:7-8).
Jesus' parable of the sower is aimed at those who hear His Word. There are different ways of accepting God's Word and they produce different kinds of fruit accordingly. Do we take time to listen or are we too busy to pray? Are we pre-occupied with other things, leaving no time to study or meditate on God's Word? When our minds are open we are then willing to listen and learn.
Do we hunger for God's Word?