LISTENING AND OBEYING
It does not make too much sense in English, but in Latin, the two words “listening” and “obeying” have very much in common. The root word of obedience is “audire” (ob-audire), which really means to listen. For one to obey, one first has to listen, and not the other way around.
Jose Rizal’s famous story about a young moth, who refused to heed the advice of mother moth to never get too close to the burning candle, illustrates clearly this close connection between listening and obeying. The little moth “wouldn’t hear any of it,” as native English speakers would say. In other words, it disobeyed its mother’s well-meaning warnings and pleadings. True to its mother’s worst fears, the young moth got too close to the fire and got singed. Disobedience was the cause of the young moth’s undoing.
The story strikes close to our own personal experience. I remember my grandmother decades ago who never tired of repeating the same lines over and over again. In so many different ways, what she told us kids then all boiled down to one and only one thing: heed the teachings and reminders of elders.
The Lord today, speaking through Jeremiah, does as much. He reminds us basically to “listen to the words of my servants the prophets.” But like the hapless moth, we tend not to “hear any of it,” and “not obey the prophets.”
Rizal’s famous allegory does have a lesson to teach us. But God’s Word does more than teach. It convicts, even if it means giving us a little warning of the consequences if we don’t heed it. But there, too, is a high price to pay for heeding the warnings. Obedience for the moth meant not getting close enough, and not enjoying the warm glow of the burning candle. Obedience for Jeremiah translated into a lot of scorn heaped on him by the very people he was trying to help. Doing as God would have us do leads us into a possible life of undeserved pain, even as it brings us indescribable joy and fulfillment. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you have experiences of disobedience? What were the consequences?
Grant me an obedient heart, Lord, that I may be able to listen to You and fulfill Your will for me.
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