Sisters and Brothers,

I remember talking to Jehovah's Witnesses when I was a child. They visited my town and knocked on every door. I also remember that they never listened to my arguments or anything I wanted to say. They just came to tell what they had to. They were never open to listening. I felt like I was wasting my time.

Perhaps you feel like that from time to time, when you talk to people who don’t want to listen, who are not interested in facts. They just want to tell you their opinion, their version of a story.

Today, Pilate has a conversation with Jesus. He asks Jesus about his kingship, but in fact, he is not interested in what Jesus is telling him. He already has his own opinion; he has his version of a story. Whatever Jesus says to him, Pilate does not change his view. The words of Jesus did not affect his life. He gets some information about Jesus and from Jesus. He knew a lot about this teacher of Israel. But listening to Jesus, even conversing with him, does not make Pilate believe and acknowledge Jesus as his king. He stays with his own opinion.

This is a good moment to ask ourselves about our relationship with Jesus. We go to church; we start our prayers with our opinions in our hearts. Like Pilate, we want to talk to Jesus; we long to have a conversation with him. But similarly to Pilate, we do not listen to what Jesus is saying to us. The words of Jesus, the words of the Gospel, do not affect us much. We are not open to Jesus's teaching; we prefer to stay with our own views.

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Let's listen to the words of God and acknowledge that Jesus is the King.

Have a blessed week.

Fr. Bogdan