What a great phrase, “all the people were hanging on his words.” How rarely do we find a speaker that draws us in and mesmerizes us with his words. I can just picture the audience leaning in, hushed, straining to hear every word, every inflection. They surrounded Jesus with a presence so intense and strong that it acted as a very real barrier to those scribes who wanted him dead. How many times do I listen like that? Do I spend time with scripture and really focus? Do I set aside times of solitude and silence to hear what Jesus is saying to me today?
At another time, many of Jesus’ followers left him when he spoke of offering his own flesh to eat. Jesus asked the twelve if they wanted to leave as well. Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” I think if I really believed Peter I would hang on to every word as well.
—Mr. Gerald Skoch, JD, serves as Vice-President and Chief Mission Officer at St. Ignatius High School, Cleveland, OH.