Are We Listening?
Homily by Ben
Saint Paul’s
Episcopal Church
Ventura, CA
Youth Sunday, April
29, 2007
O Lord God,
open our hearts to listen to your voice, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
“My sheep
hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.” This is what Jesus tells the
people in the temple that winter day. Those who HEAR him, follow him.
We HEAR the
voices of those around us day in and day out. The question is, are we
listening? Well, that is a good question. In fact, as I was thinking about this
question, I realized that when our youth leaders Nate, Roger and Martha were
assigning jobs to the kids in the J2A class for this Sunday’s youth service, I
HEARD them talking, talking, talking. Apparently, I wasn’t LISTENING very well,
because the next thing I know, here I am giving a sermon!! Not exactly the job I would have chosen for
myself, but I’ll try to make the best of it!
As babies,
as kids, as teens, even as adults, we spend a good part of our lives having
people talk at us. We come to know some of these voices so well, that we can
discern them from all others. Most of us can pick up a ringing phone and
instantly know the voice of our mother or father, or other familiar friend or
relative, just from their “Hello.” Of course caller ID helps a lot with this
recognition! But you know what I mean. People can pick out their spouse’s or
child’s voice even in a crowd of other voices, and kids can tell when it’s
THEIR mom calling them home for supper. We get to know these voices so
intimately, that we can tell a lot from their tone as well. We can sense pride,
or fear or disappointment almost from someone’s first word.
Of course,
the good thing about this is that many of these people love us and want the
best for us, and many of their words are meant to help us in some way. Our
parents’ voices teach us about the world, how to think and act, what is right
and wrong; they give us love and support, and help guide us all through our
lives. Other familiar voices take on different roles; a counselor’s voice may
help us make choices and discern goals affecting our education or career. And
the familiar voices of friends can fill up our days with jokes and laughing, as
well as helping us through rough times.
Where the
problem comes, is when we hear these familiar voices, but we turn them into so
much background noise. That is, we HEAR them, but we’re not really LISTENING.
Sometimes we stop listening because it’s not only the voice that is familiar,
it’s those SAME OLD words, over and over and over again. (Did you do your
homework? Pick up your room! Wash your hands! Waa…waa…waa…). Other times, we
stop listening because what’s on TV or on our iPod is waay more interesting
than hearing about Mom’s shopping trip or Dad’s day at the office. We also might stop listening because we
figure we know a lot more than the person talking, so why should we bother
paying attention to what they are saying. (In case you had forgotten, teenagers
are known for this!)
Apparently,
this problem has been going on for a long time. In the first lesson, Paul told
the Israelites that because they did not understand the words of the prophets
that were read EVERY single Sabbath, they fulfilled those words
by condemning Jesus. Two thousand years of hearing without listening!
Unfortunately,
when we stop listening, we run a pretty big risk of missing something
important. Hopefully, as we get a little wiser, a little more mature, we do
start listening more. That is a good thing, because there are a lot of people
who have some pretty great things to say to us. However, the most important
voice we can listen for is Jesus’.
Through daily prayer and regular study of the scriptures, we can hear
him speaking to us. When we pray, we can
begin to tune out distractions, and give our full attention to God. By studying
the words and stories of the scriptures, we can begin to hear the Lord’s
voice. Whether we turn to Him in times
of trouble or thanksgiving, or even just during ordinary life, if we really
listen with our ears and more importantly, our hearts, we can be empowered
by His message. The Lord’s voice can become as familiar to us as our parents’.
We can know it intimately, and discern it from all others. His voice can be
like that of a trusted counselor, giving us guidance and direction. And his
voice can be like that of a treasured friend; someone who knows everything
about us, both good and bad, and loves us still. We can hear Jesus’ voice. The question is,
are we listening?
Amen
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