How do I react when I hear something I do not want to hear?

How do I react when I hear news that I don’t want to hear? Do I immediately question that information or its source? Do I begin to take on the mentality of a victim, asking “why me, why now”? Or, do I take in that information, reflect and wonder how I can use that news to learn from and benefit from? When we are young, bad news may be hearing from a coach that we were cut from a team, or hearing the recap from the crowd on a Monday morning about events at a party from the weekend we were not invited to attend. As we get older, that news may be hearing from a spouse that they lost a job due to downsizing, hearing from a doctor about the illness of a loved one, or hearing from a child that it may be time to consider giving up driving. Bad news is not easy to process. Today’s readings made me stop and reflect on how I react when God tells me something that I do not want to hear.

In today’s First Reading from Genesis, “God put Abraham to the test”, asking him to take “[his] son Issac…whom [he loved]…and offer him up as a holocaust” (Gn 22:1-2). What a difficult thing for Abraham to hear. However, being a pious man, Abraham knew that God’s best intentions were at work (although I’m sure he did not know what those intentions were!) and listened to God. Abraham “built an altar there…and took a knife to slaughter his son” (Gn 22: 9a-10). Prior the moment of the strike of the knife’s blade, God’s messenger arrived, telling Abraham to stop, rewarding him for his devotion and love, despite hearing a request that was upsetting and unsettling. I believe that God was not testing Abraham’s faith (a loving God is not going to test us to prove to Him how much we love Him), but instead was assisting Abraham in discovering the strength of his faith, discovering how strong of a man he was. Because of his willingness to listen to God’s command about sacrifice, Abraham was not only able to learn about God’s loving nature (a far cry from the Pagan gods at the time who would require human sacrifice), but also about himself and about his devotion to and his own love of God.

In today’s Gospel, Peter, James and John too heard information and were not sure about how to act or react. The Gospel begins with three simple words, “six days later”: “six days later, Jesus took…them up a high mountain apart by themselves” (Mk 9:2). Six days prior their ascent of Mount Tabor, Jesus asked the Apostles the question “who do they say I am” and the crowd answered “Elijah” and “John the Baptist”, before Peter answered “You are the Messiah”. Jesus let them know that as the Son of Man or Messiah, He would suffer greatly, feel rejection from leaders, be denied or even betrayed by those close to him, and eventually lose His life. Can you imagine being one of the inner circle, one of the Apostles, hearing that news? That the man whom you followed closely and listened to would suffer terribly and eventually lose His life? Later, Christ told them that if they wanted to follow Him, they would need to take up their cross as well. Jesus delivered the hard truth, that not only must He suffer and die, but as disciples, they must be willing to do the same as His followers. It was a hard message, one that they probably were not ready to hear.

Six days after delivering that hard news, Christ took the three followers up the mountain, “and was transfigured before them/and his clothes became dazzling white” (Mk 9:2-3). Poor Peter, who I often find myself relating to the most in the Gospels, did not know how to react after seeing his friend transform. He “hardly knew what to say” and was “so terrified” (Mk 9:6). In this moment, a voice spoke, telling the three Apostles, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him” (Mk 9:7). Listen to Jesus when he tells you He must suffer and die! Listen to Jesus when he says that you must take up your own cross! Listen to Him and you will find salvation.

Uncertainty, darkness, struggle and sacrifice are themes found consistently through this Lenten portion of the liturgical calendar, especially on that final Friday atop another mountain, Calvary. But like the transfigured Christ appearing to the Apostles at one of their lowest collective moments, Easter Sunday is soon approaching, and the light of that Sunday will bring us out of this darkness! The radiance that comes from this Transfiguration atop Tabor will carry us through the dreariness of that other mountain, Calvary.

Abraham, Peter and the other Apostles all received information that they all probably did not want to hear. So, how do we react when God tells us something we do not want to hear? We listen and anticipate salvation and the other great gifts that come from His loving, radiant, grace!

Author: Colin Hanley, Counseling Department