Advent 7: LISTENING

The word listen contains the same letters as the word silent.                                                   

~Alfred Brendel

Have you ever met anyone with social anxiety disorder?  We used to call it "being painfully shy" and it’s a surprisingly common issue.  The people who suffer from it worry about what to say in a social situation; they are torn between fear of saying the wrong thing and looking foolish, and fear of having nothing to say at all--and looking foolish.   

I am no therapist and don't want to oversimplify, but I can recommend one common sense help for social anxiety disorder:  practice listening carefully to people when they speak to you.  You will soon be in great demand because everybody is desperately looking for someone to really listen to them--to listen wholeheartedly, and to believe that in that moment there is no more important place to be, and nothing more important to do.

In Matthew's nativity story, Joseph listens intently--and obeys--each and every time an angel prompts him: 

...do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife...the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit....you are to name him Jesus. (Mt 1:20,21) 

...take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt.... (Mt 2:13)

...take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead.  (Mt 2:20)

The wise men listen too, to the dream they have which warns them to avoid King Herod and return to their country by another road.

In Luke's version of the nativity, listeners frequently burst into song lyrics when they hear the Voice of God or an Angel of God.  (This response is not advised in normal conversation.) 

Mary listens to Gabriel's news and responds positively:

Here am I...let it be with me according to your word. (Lk 1:38)

 Her cousin Elizabeth listens to a cue from her son, the unborn John the Baptist, and her response remains among us today as a part of the Rosary:

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  (Lk 1:42)

Mary listens to Elizabeth in her turn, and responds with what is called The Magnificat:

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.... (Lk 1:47)
  

Listening is something most people don’t do very well.   We’re too busy trying to remember what we want to say next.  As John Wayne (aka 'Big Jake' McCandles) tartly observed:  "You're short on ears and long on mouth."

Really relaxing into a conversational exchange is a gift and a privilege.  We have been admitted into the privacy of another person’s life and thoughts, and we have an opportunity to learn something.  

How much more does that apply when God is trying to speak to us?

In Jesus' day they must have had the same problems with dysfunctional ears, so he chose stories-- parables--as the most user-friendly form of teaching.  And even then he often pointed the ending with "You who have ears, listen."

If Jesus was standing among us today, in all his transfigured glory, I wonder if we would listen any better than Peter was doing on that famous mountaintop?  That was a classic example of someone talking instead of listening.  If you recall, finally God interrupted the flow and spoke directly to Peter:  This is my son, my Chosen;  listen to him!  How embarrassing.

 Here's an intriguing question:  what do you think Jesus might talk about if he was here in the flesh today?   

Would he have a great parable about computers to help us better understand God's presence in our lives?  Or maybe traffic, surely he would talk about traffic.  And hunger.  And illness.  And sex.  And money.  And the need for love, of course.  Actually, a lot of his topics would probably be exactly the same.  Which is a disconcerting realization.

I have written a pseudo-Jesus parable below, just trying to imagine what he might talk about today.  The Gospel According to Alice:

The kingdom of heaven is like a group of young people 
who went out to dinner together 
and they all turned off their cell phones.  

(AL 1:1)

If you have an idea for a contemporary Jesus parable please share it in the comment section below.