“Silence grows me and frees me,” writes Joan Chittister in Radical Spirit. “It enables me to become the ear of God on earth. . .” (p. 162). So often we remind ourselves that we are the hands and feet of Christ, but it is a bit surprising to talk about becoming the ear of God on earth. With our hands we make sandwiches for a food pantry, and with our feet we go to a Habitat site. Our hands and feet do the work of God to meet the needs of his children.

But what do our ears do? Listening to God’s small voice, we may discover our weaknesses, we may hear a different interpretation of Scripture, we may focus on a call to do more or be more. In this way silence grows and frees me.  In the deep silence of listening, we may hear what enters God’s ear. We may hear the moans of suffering that God attends to. We may catch sounds that delight the Creator. We may catch the whispers of children, the agony of the grieving, the shouts of injustice. When we hear what God hears, we become the ear of God on earth.

Today let your hands and feet do the work of God that you heard by being God’s ear.