Daily Devotional for October 21

​

October 21                                                       Matthew 11: 7-15

A gray-haired couple well into their senior years caused a stir
among the lunch-time crowd at a fast-food restaurant. As the
pair munched hamburgers, the husband began barking ques-
tions at his wife.

"Can't you hear me?" he demanded in a voice loud enough
to be heard throughout the McDonald's. "Have you heard
anything that I've said?" he continued, his voice gruff with
age and agitation.

His timid wife nodded.

"Well then, why don't you let me know?" the man asked. "If
you don't respond, how am I supposed to know you hear me?"

How indeed? The man's questions, though spoken harshly, were
valid. Whether it be a simple nod or a lengthy spoken response,
we expect some sort of reaction when we speak to others.
That's how we know that our message is being received.

The same is true with Christ. Repeatedly in the Gospels, we
find Jesus advising, "Those who have ears, let them hear."
The advice follows profound words of wisdom, messages that
Christ doesn't want us to miss. In today's passage, Jesus has
just acknowledged John as "Elijah who is to come," the one
who would herald the coming Christ. And if the listeners
accept John as the prophet, they accept Christ as the Saviour.

How do we let Christ know that we have heard the message?
By simply responding to its content.

But not just any response will do. If the elderly husband had
asked his wife about her health and she had responded by tell-
ing him the time of day, he would have known that his message
hadn't gotten through.

In responding to Christ, we need to acknowledge that we accept
Christ as our Saviour. And to do that, we must live our lives
in the loving manner Jesus taught us. Then Christ will know
that the message has been not just heard, but understood as well.

​

From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.198