In western culture we are subjected to a constant barrage of noise and information. We have talking heads on the radio in the car. Music streams into stores as we shop. The television provides incessant babble if we allow it. The stream of information is unrelenting and we cannot possibly take it all in. We have to be selective in our listening.
In several places in the Gospels, Jesus make the statement, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” My paraphrase of this would be, “you’ve got the equipment required to hear, now use it and listen up.”