1-12-2022

 Good Morning All,

           Proverbs 18:13; “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.”

    How old were you when you first were told, “You have two ears and one mouth; use them in that ratio”? Many elementary students hear it often; at least a variation of it any way. It may sound cute or quaint, but it is an accurate view of life.

    St. Francis of Assisi, in one of his many prayers, asked that he may, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”  This is the kind of advice to take; this is the kind of prayer to pray. When we are faced with a challenging situation, listening is almost always the most difficult thing.  We usually are spending our time trying to formulate our response. We fail to really hear what the other person is saying, and this causes a tremendous problem in our communications.

    One of the professors I had at the seminary tells his students to always answer any question about doctrine or theology with the question, “Why do you want to know?”  Initially this seems somewhat abrupt, but the goal is to get to the real question, to listen to what someone really wants to know and getting to what a person is really asking or saying is crucial in addressing problems.

    This issue comes to mind as I listen to the national debate about some gun control issues. It truly seems like both sides are not really listening to each other. They spend more time talking about and at each other than with each other. Both sides are driven by fear and until both sides listen to the true fear of the other there will never be any resolution.

    We see the same in the Church. When issues or concerns are raised, do we listen and truly hear the concerns or are we looking for some pat answer? Do we truly see the needs of our fellow man? We often fail to listen; fortunately for us our heavenly Father listens to us and hears our cries clearly.

    God has promised to hear our prayers to hear our cries. He hears our words even before we speak them. Even though our communications with our fellow man may be broken; God hears us and listens to us. And as he listens to us; he promises to answer us. God will listen and answer our prayers. He does this out of his love for us and he calls us to listen to the cries and the needs of our fellow men of our neighbors. He calls us to continue the ministry of reconciliation of our neighbors. In order to do this, we have to speak; we need to speak the Gospel of Jesus; the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Jesus.

     Yet as we speak, we also need to listen, truly listen to the needs of our neighbors especially those who are hurting. If they come to you in pain or sorrow, give them a shoulder, a hug, a sympathetic ear; give them God’s comfort. Listen close and give them the answer of God’s undying, unending love. This is what they need and what we can give to them.

Dear Father, give us the wisdom to listen to our neighbor. Give us the ability to hear the cries of our fellow man and to give to them the comfort and the grace which you give to us and call us to share with those around us. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret