On the day that I moved
into my room at Seminary, I placed my favorite image of Our Lady on a nail that
was already in the wall in my room. I thought that since the previous resident
of this room had a picture hanging there, that it was probably a good place. It
is an image of the Blessed Virgin holding the child Jesus. It is an image of
tender compassion, loving concern and protection, and that is why it was the
first thing that I hung up on the wall.
But then the image
started to move. The image started to move slightly from the wall and then
back. This was not any kind of supernatural event. It was perfectly natural because
on the other side of my wall was the wall in the room of another seminarian who
had recently purchased a large speaker for listening to music. The vibrations
from the speaker from the music were causing the image of peace and tranquility
in my room to move. So I carefully and calmly walked to the next room. I gently
knocked on the door, and as it opened, I said, “My name is Benjamin Roberts
from the Diocese of Charlotte. What are we
listening to?”
What are we listening
to? It’s pretty important what we listen to. We listen to advertisements and we
buy things. We listen to political speeches and debates and we think and
eventually vote a certain way. We listen to music and our emotions are moved
and some people, not me but some people, dance. We listen to the news and our
hearts are broken at the horrific violence in cities throughout the world,
throughout the country, and even throughout our own area. What we listen to is
pretty important.
And it’s so much easier
to listen to what is bad. It’s easier to listen to a rumor about someone’s sins
than it is to hear a story about someone’s good deeds. It’s so much easier to
listen to the bad news, to focus on the bad news, to pay attention to the bad
news. And when we do that, we can easily miss the Good News.
The prophet Daniel told
the people some pretty bad news. He talked about a time of unsurpassed
distress. Jesus told of some pretty bad news too. There will be days of
tribulation and darkness. Heaven and earth will pass away. Everything in
creation will be changed. The world as we know it will end. It’s pretty bad
news, and it’s really easy to listen to only the bad news.
But the prophet Daniel
and certainly the Lord Jesus tell us the Good News. Daniel talks about Michael,
a guardian of the Lord’s people, who brings the protecting power of God to his
people. Jesus promises that he will send his angels to gather his people from
the ends of the earth. In the midst of all of the bad news of tribulation and darkness,
the Lord shows us tender compassion, loving concern and protection. Jesus tells
us the Good News. Jesus invites us to listen to the Good News.
And he tells us to tell
the Good News. When we listen to sadness
and suffering, we then tell the Good News of the Lord’s presence. When we
listen to trials and tribulations and tragedies, we then tell the Good News of
God’s mercy. When we listen to accomplishment and achievement, we then tell the
Good News of God’s protection.
There is so much bad
news that we could listen to. Let’s share the Good News instead. Amen.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
