Advent 2020: Reveal Your Presence Lord

 Open My Ears by Randy Henderson, Director of Youth Ministry 

      This week Our Advent journey beckons us to open our ears.  What might it mean to “open our ears,” this Advent?  Perhaps this particular Advent of 2020, we can pray for the desire to move from a passive “hearing,” towards an active “listening”  in our lives!  What is the difference between hearing and listening, we might ask?  The Chinese symbol for “listening” reveals that our whole selves are engaged in the act of listening.  Hearing something is just the beginning for us in this symbol.  Can you agree that It’s easy to hear things but often more difficult to really listen?  What stands out most to me is that listening entails really seeing someone, thinking about what they are offering from a stance of undivided attention and allowing what they share to penetrate our hearts. In Luke 1:41-44, the sound of Mary’s greeting at the house of her cousin Elizabeth causes Elizabeth’s infant to “leap” within her and stirs something deep within Elizabeth that results in the beautiful words of the Hail Mary. Having listened, Mary responds with the words of the Magnificat.  Can you imagine the undivided attention these two women gave to one another in this encounter? Both had “listened” to the news that Gabriel brought to them and with their whole being, they entered into God’s wonderfully reckless plan of salvation for all.  With their whole being, they opened their ears and truly listened.  With Advent being a season for preparation, may we be like Mary and Elizabeth and open our ears to the God that is always seeking us personally.  May God’s knock upon the door of our hearts not only be heard by us, but listened to.  And may our listening send us out into the world to listen to others in this holistic and undivided way.