January 18, 2009

1 Samuel 3: 1-10

John 1: 43-51

Seeing with the ears of your heart

            The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus came from God and the light of heaven to be with us in this world of darkness to give us His light. God is made visible in Jesus. John’s gospel will tell us the drama of how we see or don’t see the presence of God.  

Read John 1:43-51 

Does God still speak today? What if…what if God decided never to speak to us again? What if God decided to leave us alone and the only voice we would hear would be our own? At the time of Samuel we read that “the word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” That is not much different than today. But just one person made a difference then – Samuel learned how to listen and he changed the historical course of his people and their relationship with God.  

Why do we not see the presence of God in our lives? Perhaps we see only what we expect to see.  We see as the world has trained us to see. Our seeing is conditioned by our experiences and by the limits of our physical being.  You see me right in front of you, but do you really see me or do you see what you think you know about me. When you look at your spouse or your child, do you really see them or do you see your projections on them. When you look at yourself do you really see yourself or do you see images distorted by insecurity, self-delusion, and wishful thinking?  It is hard to see what is right in front of us. So how can we hope to see what is not so evident?

In our reading from the Gospel of John, we hear about Nathanael’s encounter with Jesus. We do not know much about this disciple, Nathanael, but we do know that he was from Cana which was about 10 miles from Nazareth. And we know that he had little respect for anyone who lived in Nazareth. He said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” A person in our Wednesday night lectionary class suggested that the soccer team of Cana must have regularly whipped up on the wimpy soccer team of Nazareth. Cynical Nathanael could only see a person from Nazareth as he was conditioned to see. Goodness gracious, did his encounter with Jesus change all of that. He received new eyesight and declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God.”  

What do you see when you look at Jesus? If you see what you expect to see with your worldly eyes, then you are not seeing the presence of God. Following Jesus requires a new way of seeing, because he sees quite differently from us and wants us to use our eyes like he does. He wants us to see with the ears of our hearts, because seeing in this way people look different. When Jesus looked at Peter after Peter denied him three times, Jesus did not see a traitor; he saw a disciple through which he could build the church. When Jesus looked at Zacchaeus, he saw a friend with whom he could have dinner and not a hated tax-collector. When the Prodigal son returned to his father after wasting all of his father’s money, the father did not see a rebellious and ungrateful son; he saw a son that he simply loved. When we see with ears of the heart, all our preconceived prejudices are bypassed and we see things as they really are in God’s kingdom. Through the eyes of faith we begin to see the world as God sees it.  

Would like to see with the ears of your heart?  It is a unique and soft way of seeing. If you do, you will want to become a disciple of Jesus and immerse yourself in his ways and teachings. Notice, I said become a disciple of Jesus, not become a Christian. You can be a Christian without being a disciple, you know. To be a Christian all you have to do is go to church, say you believe in God as Jesus taught, and try to be good. To be a disciple requires much more.  

The theologian/author, Dallas Willard, says that a disciple “lives in the kingdom of God, applies that kingdom for the good of others, and makes it possible for them to enter it themselves”. Disciples are learning how to live in God’s kingdom by seeing and following Jesus with the ears of their hearts. It is not doing religion; it is not being moral and refraining from doing wrong. No, it is becoming what God wants you to be. And it does not happen accidently. You do this by intentionally becoming an apprentice of Jesus so that you can lead your life as our Lord would have you lead it..  

If you are an apprentice to a bricklayer, you learn from the master mason how to lay bricks. In the beginning you might not be very good; but you learn by doing, making mistakes, and growing into your craft until you, too, become a bricklayer. If you are an apprentice to a concert pianist, you will not be very good at first; but you learn by practicing hours and hours, making mistakes, and growing your skills until you, too, become an accomplished pianist.  

To be a disciple of Jesus and see the world the way he sees it with the ears of the heart, then you must make the intentional decision to become his apprentice. It is no different from becoming an apprentice to a bricklayer or a concert pianist. To you it must be the opportunity above all other possible choices, because being an apprentice of Jesus will require immersing yourself in his words and life. Jesus says in John 8 that to be his disciple you must “dwell in his word …and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free”.   

So to begin, you must spend at least several hours a day to read the gospels and then read them and read them. You will need to ask the Holy Spirit to meet you and guide you in your reading so that you will not just struggle on your own. You will find that you will pray the teachings that you are reading and ask God to see with the ears of your heart.  

Then you will have to put His words into practice and make them live. Yes, there will be fits and starts and fumbling and bumbling, but you must begin. Every sincere apprentice of whatever master has to begin doing and practicing the ways of their master. And it matters not if you are 7, 17, 57, or 87 years old. You won’t be very good at first, but you will grow and become what God wants you to be. And you will continue this journey with God eternally.

.