"Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food." (Isaiah 55:2)
It appears that there is a relationship between listening to God and eating. This brief passage in Isaiah is overflowing with commands by the Lord to come and eat, feast on that which cannot be bought with money. Quench your thirst. It brings to mind the wilderness when Jesus beat back the devil by reminding him that we live by every word from the mouth of God. And it is true, human beings are filled with so much longing for the life beneath the common routines of our work, markets, and homes. Why do we labor for things that cannot satisfy us? It's a good question. Is it just the condition of being human that requires it? Is it a form of bondage to be locked into habits that only make us hungrier? The funny thing is, I'm not even sure most of us know just how hungry for God we are. Why? I don't know, but maybe it's because it's just plain hard to feel that kind of ache.
"Listen carefully to me," says God. Listening and hearing however, are not the same thing. Hearing is when our eardrum sets our inner ear to vibrate in delivering audible information to our brains. Listening however...ahhh...now that is another matter. Everyone one of us carries around memories of when we spoke and no one listened, or when we heard, but failed to listen. It takes practice. It means our ears must be unstopped. It means we have to withold ourselves and receive the fullness of that which comes to our ear. Sometimes it means we have to listen hard for what is not said, what is happening beneath the words. No easy task. Maybe the Lenten desert can help us with this. Maybe it will give us the silence we need. And in the silence if you should discover you are hungry, be at ease: for if you know you are hungry for the Word, this is a sign that your ear is well inclined.
Reflection
- Do you ever struggle with a sense that something is missing and you are not sure what?
- Do you ever tell God about this missing something?
- Just how are your listening skills?
God who fills us with all good things, may our ears become mouths to feast on your Word. Open these ears of ours so that we may live. This we ask in your Holy Name, Amen
Reminds me of the saying that we have two ears and one mouth...maybe we should listen twice as much as we talk. As a parent, sometimes I feel like I have about 3 or 4 mouths and my ears are nowhere to be found...it's just so important for our kids to LISTEN TO US because we know best how to keep them safe, teach them, etc. I wonder if that's how God feels with us.
ReplyDeleteI'm caught up on the blog (sort of!) and enjoying the journey. Thank you, Pastor Amy!
Yeah, that's so true. I love that image of many mouths - - do you sprout a new one with each new child? Mine is only four years but I feel the same way.
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