Learning to Listen for Lent
The voice from heaven declared: This is My Son, My Chosen; listen to Him!”
Hello friends! Happy Fat Tuesday!
It’s been a bit since my last post…
A lot has happened in the past nine months - in our world, our country, and in my own life. Much of my time has been getting settled in my new community. With respect to church work, most every congregation follows a similar cadence - Christmas, Easter, VBS, Stewardship - but every church does so in their own particular ways. I always forget how disorienting it is to move and to begin a new job. I’ve been learning a lot. And, I am trying to be more gentle with myself and patient.
I’ve also been trying hard to listen well.
Early in my career, a retired pastor shared a piece of wisdom with me that I’ve carried around in my back pocket ever since. He had a passion for horses and told me, “Make sure you get seated in the saddle before you start riding off.” Many mistakes are missed and frustrations avoided by those who discipline their time [and ambitions] to begin well. Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” A sharpened axe makes the work go much quicker. Getting seated in the saddle makes the ride much more enjoyable. And new starts can become good starts when listening is made a priority.
In worship this past Sunday, we celebrated Transfiguration Sunday, focusing on Luke’s account of the time when Jesus was transformed into His heavenly appearance in front of Peter, James, and John. It’s a powerful scene and signals a turning point in the Gospel story. Jesus continues to heal the hurting, feed the hungry, and teach about the Kin-dom of God, but, now, His attention is turned toward Jerusalem, toward the cross.
Before He and the three descend down the mountain, a voice from heaven declares: This is My Son, My Chosen; listen to Him!”
Listen to Him…
Before the cross, before healing more people, before casting out demons, before proclaiming the Kingdom, God commands: listen to Jesus!
Before posting on Facebook…listen to Jesus. Before turning on the morning news…listen to Jesus. Before checking John Stewart’s weekly #hottakes…listen to Jesus. Before you launch your next initiative, before you react to the latest round of injustice, before you organize your community, before you preach your sermon, before, before, before…listen. to. Jesus.
Thus sayeth the LORD.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling quite convicted by my lack of listening to Jesus lately. I’ve become quite adept at listening to news updates. My phone makes it easy - too easy - for me to stay up-to-date with my email, what’s happening in the world, the opinions of my social media ‘friends’ and reading the headlines of the my internet echo chamber’s propaganda. But listening to Jesus? Well…that’s not as convenient.
So to help retune my hearing, I’m taking three steps:
I’ve shut down my Facebook account. Temporarily. But perhaps permanently. It’s not good for my health and it certainly does not help me love God or my neighbor more. In fact, more often than not, it helps me do the opposite. So I’ve stepped away in hopes of turning my attention more toward Jesus and those around me than those on my phone.
I am being more intentional to use my favorite devotional app: Lectio 365. It offers morning, midday, and evening devotions that are read aloud to me. They take about 5-10 minutes depending on the reflection and are a great resource for me to refocus my ears toward Jesus. Perhaps this Lent you’ll join me in giving it a try!
Speaking of Lent, I am going to try to write a reflection Monday-Saturday walking through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7. I know that if I want to listen to Jesus, then reading what He said is a great a place as any to start. I hope I can do it. Consistent, disciplined writing has not yet been a strength of mine. Maybe that will change this Lent :)
Before taking the next step, Jesus’ disciples were told to listen to Him.
Let’s start there and see where God takes us next.