Look at those in today’s Gospel who failed to hear Jesus’ repeated message. Why? Because they were closed-up in their own prejudices, not on tap to listen, much less accept the truth.
To encounter Christ in my life, I must listen to what he says to me personally. He knows me and he wants me to know him better, to become more intimate with him. This is done in prayer, where knowing him and hearing the invitation to follow him more closely becomes more clear, and where my selfish prejudices are seen better for what they are.
How do I know this? In today’s Gospel Christ defines his followers as those who hear his voice and follow him. Therefore, if I am truly attached to him, no one, nothing can separate me from him. Resolve: I’ll reread and pray over today’s Gospel with the best of teachers, the Blessed Virgin, at my side.