“Be opened!” Jesus said to the deaf man with a speech impediment. At some time or another, we all are deaf. We don’t hear what is really important. We don’t hear God’s voice. Instead, we hear all sorts of distracting voices that keep us from obeying God. The Psalm for today emphasizes how important it is to keep focused on God’s voice and to turn away from other voices that harden our hearts to God.
As I reflect on these lessons, I am considering the difference between to “be open” and to “be opened.” To “be open” is something we chose to do. It is a conscious decision to open ourselves to hearing God’s word. But to “be opened” is God’s act upon us to open us up. Jesus opened up the deaf man’s ears by healing him. The Old Testament tells us about God’s attempts to get our attention and our lack of obedience. But instead of punishing us for not opening our hearts to God, God sent Jesus to heal us. It is through the healing touch of Jesus that we can “be opened” to hearing God’s voice.
It helps to pray that we might “be opened,” I think, when we feel that God has not spoken directly to us when we seek God’s voice. We may be willing to “be open” to God, but we may have too many hurts or insecurities to really hear God’s voice. From my experience, if I start first with a prayer for healing whatever it is in my life that closes me and hardens me to God, I am more likely to “be opened!” And so I pray with everyone who reads this reflection hoping to hear God’s voice, “Heal us of our self-imposed darkness and silence, Lord, that we might ‘be opened’ to hear your voice. Thank you for the healing touch of Jesus’s love in our lives.”
Barbara Dilly
I came to Creighton in 2000 and retired in 2020. My twenty years of teaching, research and service in the Jesuit tradition enhanced my own life. It was an exciting time of celebration. I loved teaching and interacting with Creighton students because they responded so eagerly to the Ignatian pedagogical emphasis on the development of the whole person. It is this spirit of whole person development and celebration of life that I hope to infuse in my reflection writings.
My academic background is eclectic, preparing me well for the Liberal Arts academic environment at Creighton. I earned my BA in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA in 1988 and my Ph.D. in Comparative Cultures from the University of California, Irvine in 1994. My research focused on rural communities in the American Midwest, Latin America, and Australia. I taught Environmental Anthropology, Qualitative Research Methods, Social and Cultural Theory, and Food Studies courses.
I retired to Shell Rock, a small rural community in Northeast Iowa where I enjoy gardening, cooking, quilting, driving my 65 Impala convertible an my 49 Willys Jeepster. I have lots of fun playing my guitars with friends from the Cedar Valley Acoustic Guitar Association. But most importantly, I am still working to make my community and rural America a better place. I host a community quilt studio and serve on the Mission Board of my church. I also serve as the Climate Committee Chair and on the Executive Board of the Center for Rural Affairs.
