Avoiding a stiff neck

In the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, Luke relates the episode where the crowds question Jesus about the source of the power by which he is able to cast out demons. They should have been attentive to the inability of evil to remain in His Presence. The “stiff necked people” who Jeremiah laments are unable to hear or see the action of the Divine in their community will endure consequences of spiritual and physical separation from the land, truth and promises of God. The psalmist prays that the “hard heartedness” which in the past separated the people from the Divine will not return. When we seek the answers on our terms, we risk blocking the truth that is literally “in our face”. The ego which puts our way at the centre is the root of our ignorance and discontent.