Turning a blind eye and a deaf ear
We all have a tendency to hear without listening. It is human nature to judge others based on our own experience and biases and the immediacy of the moment. We hear, we decide, we judge, case closed. To truly listen, to try to understand, takes a certain degree of effort on our part and within our busy lives there is simply no time.
How many of us have passed someone on the street, threadbare and unkempt, and looked the other way or crossed the street to avoid being touched by someone less fortunate. St. Paul tells us that “The eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love him” [1 Cor 2:9]. If we are honest with ourselves we do not see or hear Jesus in the stranger. To someone we know well we might say “she is an angel of God” or “he is such a kind, generous soul” but we never would speak of the stranger or the poor or the hungry in such a way. Rather, our thoughts turn to judgment, telling ourselves that it is their fault that they are who or what they are.
We have eyes but do not see and ears but do not hear. We close our eyes and stopper our ears but seldom do we shut our mouths. We surround ourselves with noise, often of our own making, to keep us from listening, from seeing, from feeling, from understanding. And as long as we continue to do so we will never hear the voice of God, never feel His presence, never see Jesus in the stranger.
