Ezra 1:1-6 / Luke 8:16-18
When God speaks, one cannot but listen. He speaks not just to His Chosen People but also to all peoples for whom He has a message and a mission.
After all, God created all human beings and so in the heart of every person, there is an ear for the Word of God, whether they are believers or otherwise.
We can see this in the 1st reading when the Lord roused the spirit (or the heart) of Cyrus, king of Persia to issue a proclamation.
And the proclamation was that God's people who were exiled in Babylon were free to return to Judah and to build the Temple in Jerusalem.
And God also roused the spirit of His people who were exiled in Babylon to return to their homeland and to rebuild the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.
Indeed, when God speaks, one cannot but listen.
In the gospel, Jesus also urged us to take care how we hear, how we listen, especially to the voice of God.
Just as the people listened to the proclamation of king Cyrus, let us also open our hearts to listen carefully to what the people around us are saying.
We will know it is the voice of God when what they say will shine a light into our hearts. And it is a voice that we cannot but listen to.