First Reading: Is 11:1-10; Psalm: 72. R. v. 7; Gospel: Lk 10:21-24

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

BY FR VALENTINE NNAMDI EGBUONU, MSP

“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to infants; yes Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Lk 10:21).

One obvious trend of our time is the gross disillusionment on religion, especially the Christian faith. We can blame this among other things, on the so many deceitful and misleading acts prevalent in Churches and perpetrated by false preachers of the gospel. And also on our belief that we do not need God to succeed in this time and era. In these days, people have become more learned and exposed that they criticise the faith and leverage on religious scandals to condemn the Christian faith outright. We can say that this is a considerable excuse.

But perhaps we can pause a little and give our faith a chance. Not a kind of chance that accommodates unethical practices. But a kind of chance that is open to what God really wants to say to us. If we keep disregarding our faith due to some human error or some justifiable and subjective reasons, we may miss what God wants to say to us. Learnedness and intellectualising is applaudable; but if humility is not applied, it can make us narrow-minded and opinionated. God speaks to the open-minded. Why Jesus classified his disciples as infants was because of their open-mindedness to his word.

We can choose to listen to God today. God may want to say something to us. Read his word with an open mind. Listen to him as he speaks to you directly. The perfect kind of listening is humble listening. This is when we don’t listen to criticise but to believe. It is only after believing that we can critically search into our beliefs. When we listen to criticise, we will not listen well because our listening will be distracted by the logical arguments we are putting together in our minds. So, God wants us to listen to him today with an open mind and allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten us. It may be a life changing encounter for us.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Lord Jesus, we pray for the grace of good listening and open-mindedness as you speak to us. Amen.