“Hear Ye, Hear Ye!”

Mark 4: 3, 9, 15, 16, 18, 20: “… Listen to this! … He who has ears to hear, let him hear … when they hear … when they hear the word … these are the ones who have heard the word … they hear the word and accept it.” This parable is recounted by every Synoptic Gospel writer, and in each the focus is the same: hearing! God is always faithful to speak, but do we practice the art (or is it the discipline) of listening?