Dec 14, 2023; Matthew 11:11-15 — “Whoever Has Ears Ought to Hear”

“Whoever Has Ears Ought to Hear”

Matthew 11:11-15

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force.
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is Elijah, the one who is to come.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

“Whoever has ears ought to hear.” Most of the time many of us do not listen to learn or to understand, rather we listen to have our biases confirmed and beliefs validated. So we do not really listen, and we certainly do not listen honestly, genuinely.

Regarding learning to truly listen, Anthony De Mello writes —

I discovered something not that long ago and it turned my life upside down. It revolutionized my life. I became a new man. What was it? It was the ability to truly listen.

Are you able to listen?

If you can, you might get it.

Listening is not as easy as you might think. Why? Because we’re always listening from fixed concepts, fixed positions, fixed prejudices. The kind of listening I am referring to means being alert. Being watchful.

Listening means to listen with a fresh mind, without prejudices, without judging, without fixed formulas.

Listening, however, does not mean swallowing. That’s gullibility.

Rather, question everything, challenge everything, but challenge it from an attitude of openness, not from an attitude of stubbornness, resistance, narrowness. Challenge it all and be open as you do. When you do that, you’re listening. And you’ve taken another major step toward awakening.

Some advice from Jordan Peterson on How to Listen….