"Many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see ... to hear what you hear ..."

Jesus used a lot of parables and images in His preching and teaching, and some of His stories are universally remembered. But when His disciples asked Him why He spoke to the crowds in parables, His answer was maybe a little surprising. It was not a matter of making His message more easily understandable or acceptable, but almost the opposite! Not everyone was capable of seeing and hearing what was in front of their eyes and entering their ears. Like Isaiah had said: "The heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing and they have shut their eyes..." Grasping and understanding what Jesus says is a matter of the heart, as well as being there to see and hear Him.

These days, when we're bombarded with images and sounds all around us almost all the time, it's not surprising maybe if people can't see and hear the figure and voice of Jesus among us. And no doubt there are and have been many holy perceptive people who long to see and hear the promise of God but haven't been able to. But Jesus called His disciples, those who followed and trusted Him, "happy", blessed with God's gift, because their eyes could see, their ears could hear.