The Lord will open our ears every morning to hear Him. He will give us words to rouse the weary (Is 50:4). Because we hear God, we will speak in His name. We will have "a well-trained tongue," that is, the tongue of a disciple of Jesus (see Is 50:4, JB).
However, there is resistance within us to hearing God. The Lord often tells us things we don't want to hear. Then we either die to ourselves or rebel, refusing to hear the Lord (Is 50:5). Because others resist hearing God, they will try to prevent us from hearing God, for when we hear God, we will say things they don't want to hear. To shut us up they may beat our backs, pluck our beards, spit in our faces, or attack us in more subtle ways (Is 50:6). However, we must not rebel. We must set our faces like flint (Is 50:7) and let God open our ears to hear Him, no matter what the consequences.
Jesus is the perfect Example of this. He is the Incarnate Word of God. Every morning He opened His ear to His heavenly Father and then proclaimed the truth. There was such resistance to His words that He was crucified, but Jesus did not rebel.
Hear as Jesus heard; speak as Jesus spoke; suffer as Jesus suffered; die as Jesus died; rise as Jesus rose.
| PRAYER: | Father, may I hear You this Holy Week no matter what the consequences. |
| PROMISE: | "I am to celebrate the Passover with My disciples in your house." –Mt 26:18 |
| PRAISE: | Bernice ministers to Jesus by teaching underprivileged and retarded children. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College