Daily reflection _ ear of the heart

EAR OF THE HEART
"Don't put so much energy into watching and getting what this world gives, but pay attention to how healthy your heart is."  
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
People are generally attracted to celebrities, whether they are movie stars, ball players or politicians. People are eager to see them, to touch them if possible, and to get their autographs. Solomon was surely a celebrity of his day, and so it is not surprising that the Queen of Sheba is eager to see him in person and to hear his words of wisdom. She is overwhelmed not only by Solomon himself but by the elegant trappings of his royal court.
Sometimes, in their eagerness to meet celebrities, people miss the really important people in life, one in particular - Jesus Christ! Jesus has not chosen to surround Himself with the elegant trappings of a royal court. Rather, He has willed to veil Himself under the simplicity of human words in sacred Scripture and under the appearance of ordinary bread and wine in the Eucharist. He will not give us His autograph, but every day He does give us His wisdom in the Scriptures and His nourishment in the Eucharist. Nothing can be more precious than that.
Today's Gospel is about the state of a person's heart. Jesus puts the message out to the crowds for all to hear in His simplicity as a God man. "Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile" (Mk 7:15). Jesus seems to be saying, in effect, "Don't put so much energy into watching and getting what this world gives, but pay attention to how healthy your heart is." What is in your heart! That is what Jesus is more interested in - what is going on in our hearts? He knows if you and I love Him and want Him in our daily lives. Jesus' focus, today, is about our interior life, which is far more important than the external, for it is referred to as the ear of the heart.
We live in a fast paced life; getting information and things we want at the touch of a button, and an anxious eagerness to meet highly visible people. God invites us to examine the state of our hearts. Do I cause harm to another by speaking ill of the person? Do I refuse the gift of forgiveness to someone who asks to be forgiven? Each one of us can find something in our hearts that needs healing. We can turn to Jesus, the great Healer, in prayer and He will hear us.
Let us not forget where Jesus is and where He wants us to be. That is, in the center of our being where He dwells with us and where we can know Him, for that is where He knows us!