Faced with the words of Jesus, we often shrink back in fear at the demands He makes, or perhaps more frequently, we pretend we have not heard. "Having ears, they do not hear". It is about this latter attitude that we read in Psalm 93: "If today you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts". Deep down, we know what God is asking of us, but human nature dreads His "hard sayings"; we shrink from making the radical change in our lives that God demands. "You cannot serve two masters!"

Following Christ is not essentially a matter of intellectual understanding of the mystery revealed to us. It is rather a total commitment of one's self, in trust and in love, to Christ and His kingdom. "It is not to make use of your eyes to see me, nor of your ears to hear me, but of your heart to love me." (Paul Claudel). It is ultimately a matter of openness and generosity, animated and charged with a personal love for Jesus. Then God's word comes into our hearts as a transforming power. We will find that His word is "more than a communication of light; it is a new birth, the beginning of a new being." (Thomas Merton).