The Necessity to Listen to the Word of God

There is an important point St. Paul makes about the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, where he states that no one has the right to claim it for himself.[1] His entire discourse emphasizes the important relationship between hearing the Word of God and believing in it. St. Paul expresses an urgency about confirming the relationship between the Word of God and faith in God through His Son, Jesus Christ. He poses the question of how men who do not believe or have never heard of Christ could call on Him?

But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!” But they have not all heeded the gospel; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ.[2]

St. Paul places great emphasis on the act of hearing and believing associated with the salvific message of Jesus Christ. In one sense, possessing the ability to listen to the Word of God through Lectio Divina or simply reading and meditating on the Word of God is essential in developing a relationship with Jesus Christ. However, I argue that there is an underlying theme about having a proper spiritual disposition, which requires docility and respect for the Word of God. The act of spiritual docility and respect is echoed in the following line; Faith comes from what is heard.[3]

The responsibility that all of us possess by nature and virtue of our baptism is to be at the service of the Word of God so we can contemplate and meditate on His Word without hesitancy or distraction. Any mandate to both study, tach and proclaim the Word of God must be driven by the authority of the Word of God, who is Jesus Christ Himself, the Incarnate Word. The prospect of listening to the Word of God translates toward believing in the Incarnate Son Jesus Christ, which leads to a profession and proclamation of faith in Jesus Christ. The intimate bond between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit reveals the unique Divine nature of the Trinity expressed through three persons. God, as the Divine author, expresses the necessity to listen to him, as echoed in God’s discourse to Moses to tell Israel to obey God’s voice and keep His covenant,[4] or the discourse between Samuel and God, where Eli encourages the young Samuel to reply to God, Speak Lord, for your servant hears.[5] The Catechism reminds us that as lay faithful, we are entrusted with both listening and delivering the divine message of salvation[6] to ensure that all who listen receive the salvific message of Christ, who came to destroy sin and death, and as a holy consequence, open the gates of heaven for us. In his rebuke of the Devil during his temptation in the desert, Jesus reminds the Devil that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.[7]

The necessity to listen to the Word of God stems from the content and nature of the Word, which is salvific for all mankind. The Word of God, the Gospel, the Narratio of salvation is meant for all of us to listen, meditate, contemplate, and then act in accordance with the will of the Father through the Son. Our identity as children of God rests in our ability to exercise humility and docility to how God chose to communicate to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word. The Catechism describes how the prophets responded to their mission by listening to the Word of God,

In their “one to one” encounters with God, the prophets draw light and strength for their mission. Their prayer is not flight from this unfaithful world, but rather attentiveness to the Word of God.^[8]

It is important to consider the development of a daily habit of listening to the Word of God through the exercise of Lectio Divina, or the simple practice of meditating and contemplating on the Gospel reading for the day. From the very beginning, God’s Word has been so, St. John reminds us of this in the prologue to his Gospel,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.[9]

May we continue to listen in spiritual docility and humility to the Word of God and seek solace in the fact that God desires to be in constant loving communication with us.