If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

If today… As I read these two words over and over, the weight of their potential begins to sink in. What if today is the day? What if today, I hear God’s voice:

As clearly as Moses? God called out to him from the bush: Moses! Moses! He answered, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:4)

As clearly as Samuel? The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” (1 Samuel 3:4)

As clearly as Peter and Andrew? He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:19-20)

As for me, I tend to put the pressure on God to bring about an encounter with me that is similar to those above. I’d love nothing better than for God to leave no room for speculation in what he wants of me. Life would be so much simpler. So much more clear.

But then, what work am I putting into the potential of such an encounter? How am I readying myself to be able to hear his voice? What if he’s already spoken and I just missed it amidst the noise of life? Here, the leper in today’s Gospel may have something to teach us:

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”

The leper came to him. In order to hear God’s voice, he placed himself where he could hear God; where he could be found. This encounter we read brings hope of such an encounter for us but even then, this is not a sure thing. Many pray for things that do not come to pass. Only a fraction of those who have made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France have received a miraculous healing. If only these expressions of faith brought about the surety we seek. But there is another part of the equation; something else the leper can teach us:

If you wish… Here is the tough core of faith. Here is the surrender that defines faith – that active display of our trust in God that he knows our deepest desires and, himself, desires our greatest good. Not only this, but it is in such surrender that we come to imitate our Lord, Jesus Christ who lived out the same surrender in the Garden of Gethsemane. So, also, did Moses, Samuel, Peter, Andrew and all those who have so trusted in God. Let us keep their company and follow their example of surrender so that, if today we hear God’s voice, our hearts may receive him.