![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/piano01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
March is a restless month.
\nOne day it feels like spring,
\nthe next, winter comes roaring back
\nwith a sudden snowstorm, like this weekend.
\nAcross the country, the weather has been wild:
\ntornadoes, windstorms, wildfires.<\/p>\n
In many ways our world feels like a storm right now.
\nThe headlines change by the hour\u2014
\ninflation on the rise, financial markets dropping,
\npeople being detained,
\nprotests in the streets, arguments online.
\nSome are afraid of what\u2019s happening,
\nothers don\u2019t mind so much,
\nand still others just feel exhausted by it all.<\/p>\n
And in the middle of this storm,
\nwe gather here, in this church,
\non this Second Sunday of Lent,
\nand we hear this Gospel\u2014
\nthis mysterious moment on the mountaintop
\nwhen Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John.<\/p>\n
At first, this scene might not seem to have much to say The world is very loud right now. It\u2019s easy to get caught up in the storm, But today, on this mountain, And what does Jesus say? That is not the voice of the world. Listening sounds simple. We see this in Peter today. That\u2019s a hard thing to do. And the only way to hear those things This moment on the mountaintop And we need that, too. To be people of peace in a world of anger. There\u2019s a story about the great composer Beethoven. Do we have that kind of commitment to hearing the voice of God, This week, can we take an honest look at what voices we listen to? So that\u2019s the challenge this Lent. And then, to come down from the mountain\u2014 March is a restless month. One day it feels like spring, the next, winter comes roaring back with a sudden snowstorm, like this weekend. Across the country, the weather has been wild: tornadoes, windstorms, wildfires. In many ways our world feels like a storm right now. The headlines change by the hour\u2014 inflation on the rise, financial markets dropping, people being detained, protests in the streets, arguments online. Some are afraid of what\u2019s happening, others don\u2019t mind so much, and still others just feel exhausted by it all....<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"An Ear to the Wood: Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent - Year C","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[349],"tags":[1227,361,108,642],"class_list":["post-9347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily","tag-beethoven","tag-gospel-of-luke","tag-lent","tag-transfiguration"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/piano01.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pOucj-2qL","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9347"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9352,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9347\/revisions\/9352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nabout our world today.
\nBut actually it speaks to us precisely because we are feeling shaken,
\nuncertain, and divided.
\nBecause in the middle of all the dazzling light
\nand the appearance of Moses and Elijah,
\nthere is one voice that breaks through the noise,
\nthrough the dark cloud.
\nThe voice of the Father, saying:
\n\u201cThis is my chosen Son; listen to him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThere are voices from every side telling us what to believe,
\nwhat to fear, who to blame.
\nSome voices say we should be outraged.
\nOthers say we should be celebrating.
\nSome voices cry out in pain and fear.
\nOthers dismiss those concerns.
\nAnd if we\u2019re honest with ourselves, really honest,
\nmost of us don\u2019t just hear the noise\u2014we add<\/em> to it.
\nWe argue, we react, we post, we judge.<\/p>\n
\nto pick our side, to raise our voice,
\nto believe that if we shout loud enough,
\nwe can fix the world or win the argument.<\/p>\n
\nGod the Father speaks through the noise and tells us:
\nListen.<\/em>
\nNot to the politicians.
\nNot to the media.
\nNot to the voices of fear or anger or division.
\nListen to Him.<\/em>
\nListen to Jesus.<\/p>\n
\nA quick review of the Gospel reminds us:
\nHe tells us to love our enemies.
\nTo welcome the stranger.
\nTo care for the poor.
\nTo seek the lost.
\nTo be peacemakers.
\nTo take up our cross.<\/p>\n
\nThat is not the voice of social media.
\nThat is not the voice of power or ideology.
\nBut it is the only voice that will lead us through this storm.
\nListen to Him.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nBut it is not.
\nBecause real listening changes us.
\nIt forces us to put aside our own assumptions.
\nIt humbles us.
\nIt makes us slow down when we want to react.<\/p>\n
\nPeter, who always has something to say.
\nPeter, who, at this moment, is so overwhelmed\u2028that he just starts talking:
\n“Let\u2019s build three tents! Let\u2019s stay here!”
\nHe\u2019s doing what we all do
\nwhen we don\u2019t know what to do\u2014
\nhe fills the silence with words.
\nBut God the Father interrupts him.
\n\u201cThis is my Son. Listen to Him.\u201d
\nStop talking.
\nStop reacting.
\nJust listen.<\/p>\n
\nBecause sometimes listening to Jesus
\nmeans hearing things we don\u2019t want to hear.
\nForgive that person.\u2028Let go of that resentment.<\/em>
\nTrust me even when you\u2019re afraid.<\/em>
\nSpeak truth even when it costs you something.<\/em>
\nChoose love when anger feels easier.<\/em>
\nThis is hard to hear.
\nBut this is the Gospel.<\/p>\n
\nthe only way to listen to Jesus
\nis if we make space for silence.
\nFor prayer.
\nFor reflection.
\nIf we\u2019re constantly filling every moment with noise\u2014
\nscrolling, talking, reacting\u2014
\nwe may never hear the voice of Jesus at all.<\/p>\n
\nis a glimpse of clarity before the road gets dark.
\nThe disciples don\u2019t know it yet,
\nbut soon Jesus will lead them down from the mountain
\nand begin his journey to the cross.
\nThe Transfiguration is not an escape from suffering\u2014
\nit is a preparation for it.
\nJesus gives Peter, James, and John this moment of light
\nso they can hold onto it when the darkness comes.<\/p>\n
\nBecause no matter where you stand politically,
\nno matter how the headlines make you feel,
\nthe truth is that we are all walking forward into an uncertain world.
\nAnd we have a choice.
\nWe can let the noise and the fear and the division define us.
\nOr we can listen to Him.
\nWe can listen to the one who calls us to be different.<\/p>\n
\nTo be people of compassion in a world of cruelty.
\nTo be people of mercy when the world only offers justice without love.<\/p>\n
\nNear the end of his life,
\nhe was completely deaf.
\nHe could no longer hear the music he wrote.
\nBut he would sit at the piano and press his ear to the wood,
\nfeeling the vibrations of the notes as he played.
\nHe couldn\u2019t hear the music with his ears,
\nbut he could still sense it.
\nThink of how much time and effort and energy and patience that took.<\/p>\n
\nthat kind of time and effort and energy and patience?
\nBecause the world is loud,
\nand it is easy to let all the other voices drown out the voice of Jesus.<\/p>\n
\nWho gets our attention?
\nHow much time do we spend scrolling through the news,
\nsocial media, podcasts, TV?
\nHow many hours do we give to voices that make us anxious,
\nangry, distracted, or just numb?
\nAnd then,
\nHow much time do I give to Jesus?
\nNot only in church,
\nbut in dedicated, quiet moments of listening.
\nBeethoven longed so much to hear his music
\nthat he pressed his ear to the wood of the piano.
\nCan we press our ear to the wood of the Cross?
\nBecause if we focus our hearts on Him,
\nif we listen\u2014
\nnot only in church but all throughout out days\u2014
\nthen even while the storm rages,
\nwe will still hear His voice.<\/p>\n
\nNot only to give up chocolate.
\nNot only to pray more.
\nBut to listen<\/em>.
\nTo listen in Scripture.
\nTo listen in prayer.
\nTo listen to the voice of Christ
\nin the people who are hurting, afraid, or in need.<\/p>\n
\nnot to stay sheltered, not to isolate ourselves,
\nbut to carry what we\u2019ve heard into the world.
\nBecause the world doesn\u2019t need more noise.
\nIt needs people who have truly listened to Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"