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."
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!