The stinging words of a high school teacher to his class, annoyed at their lack of response: “Your attitude toward me? Teach me, I dare you!” Its exact opposite: “Please instruct us. We’re wide open to what you have to say.”

His memorable phrase catches the difference between resistant and receptive, having ears that are stopped up and ears that are wide open.

This is a contrast that plays into our relationship with our God. Am I more often alert to the sounds of God’s presence? Or do I not pay much attention to the ways God is directing me?

In the Hebrew Testament, the boy Samuel is a model for this attentiveness. Three times the Lord calls, and even though he mishears it twice, the youngster keeps on listening. The voice finally registers and Samuel answers, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” the reverse of “Speak Lord, I dare you!” Here’s someone at the ready, straining to catch the first undertone of the Divine whisper. The point is not so much what he heard, but rather his readiness to receive. He is on high alert for how he can respond, the reverse of indifference to the summons.

What we do at Sunday liturgy is a clear instance of this readiness to listen. Just by walking in, bowing, and taking a seat, we’re priming ourselves to pay attention, not only to the Scriptures, but also to the effort everyone around us is making to take in what is happening. That’s especially so during the Eucharist, the reenactment of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. You might envision that moment of consecration as a peak of receptivity, a time of opening ourselves to everything Jesus is offering to us, i.e., His entire self.

There are also the occasions during the rest of the week for hearing that voice. Our Lord, for instance, is a part of the affection we give to and receive from those right around us. In our Vincentian Family especially does His call mix in with both the faint and loud cries of the poor. In Vincent’s own words, “Speak to us, Lord, speak to us Yourself. We’re here as so many servants who are listening.”  (Volume: 12 | Page#: 166) Humility, 18 April, 1659.)

The aim is to be alert to situations of that Gospel invitation, to be sensitive to those nudges of the Holy Spirit welling up from within. A parent listening to a confused child, a call to forgive someone who hurt us, an impulse to stop and pray or read on some spiritual topic, a resolve to go to confession — all of these and more reflect that receptivity, that vigilance for God’s speaking.

It’s the difference between being indifferent and attentive to the summons of Jesus. It’s the contrast between “Speak to me, Lord, I dare you,” and Samuel’s “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”