Gossiping can take us away from the fruitful time we spend living out the Gospel message
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” This quote from the Old Testament that we hear on the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time reminds us that our heart should be receptive to what God is trying to tell us. As we sit in our own rooms meditating on the Scriptures or as we gather with others for reflection, are we able to hear the word of God and do what it tells us? Some people use the Scripture readings for the weekend as prompts for prayer groups or support groups. But do we actually hear the word of God, soften our hearts to it and put those words into action in our world today?
The Gospel passage attends to a particular problem: We talk about each other behind our backs. Gossiping is often so habitual that most of us don’t even know we’re doing it until we’re finished. We gather with groups of friends and inevitably the actions of another person become the center of the conversation. Most often that person is not there to defend themselves or to tell the truth about what really happened. We simply get an extra shot of energy by being able to talk about someone without having to enter into an honest conversation. The directives of the Gospel passage tell us to take it to that person and to that person alone. That should be our starting point.
Have you ever wondered why gossiping is such a popular topic for social interaction? Why is somebody else’s business more important for us to speak about than our own? It might be that we lack self-knowledge and self-understanding. It might be that we’re embarrassed or ashamed of the kind of lives we’re living. It might even be that we profess to be disciples of Jesus but we are really and truly doing nothing about it in our lives. Many of us go to church on weekends and hear the word of God that tells us to make sure that the hungry are fed and the naked are clothed. We hear that we should visit the sick and imprisoned, yet they remain alone. We hear that we should not hold a grudge, but forgive those who have hurt us. We hear that we should love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. We hear that we belong to each other no matter what external differences there are. What are we doing about these Gospel truths? Why do we have time to talk about the lives of others when we could more fruitfully spend our time living out the Gospel?
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” What is it that we are hearing from Jesus today? Are we hearing that life is too busy and too cluttered? How should we simplify life so that there truly is room to hear the voice of God? What relationships can we work toward repairing through honest communication? Are we hearing the voice of God asking us to be more generous with what we possess? Who or what will be the recipient of our more generous attitude if we listen to the word of God? Is the voice of God telling us to put aside fears and move in the direction of deeper living and closer relationships? What will we do about that? Let our hearts be softened so that we can hear and act on the voice of God that speaks to us continuously.
