Are You Listening?

 

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Scripture

John 7:40-52

⁴⁰ When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” ⁴¹ Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? ⁴² Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” ⁴³ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. ⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

⁴⁵ Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” ⁴⁶ The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” ⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? ⁴⁸ Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.” ⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ⁵¹ “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” ⁵² They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

Devotion

Recently, I've been having a hard time turning on the news or looking things up on the internet.  It's not that I'm adverse to technology or keeping up to date.  The problem is that I dread the barrage of anger, derision, and self-righteousness that awaits me in everything from politicians' statements to friends' Facebook posts.  Even when I agree with people's basic points, I am often horrified by the way they speak to and about people on the other "side."  When did we decide that anyone who disagrees with us must be evil or stupid?  Why aren't we able to love one another as we talk through our differences? 

I know that I'm not the only one disturbed by how often we attack people instead of seeking ways to be faithful together during times of disagreement.  As part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Matthew 25 initiative, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, is urging people of faith to make three basic promises that are tied to the Biblical witness:

• We will give them a hearing [and] listen before we answer (John 7:51 and Proverbs 18:13)
  
• We will speak the truth in love  (Ephesians 4:15)
  
• We will maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3)

This week, our blog will unpack each of these promises.

 The first promise is that we will give the people we disagree with a fair hearing and listen to them before we answer.  I'll admit that this promise can be difficult to keep...especially when we feel strongly about a topic.  It is human nature to be more interested in winning arguments then in listening to the other side.  People assume that they already know what the other side is going to say.  We dig into our positions, quickly rushing to judgement without even hearing a people out.

The Pharisees in John 7 were a lot like us.  Jesus's astonishing words and deeds had caused a huge disagreement among the people.  Some called him a prophet.  Others thought he was the Messiah.  Still others accused him of being possessed by a demon.  When word got back to the Pharisees, they quickly decided that this Jesus was bad news.  After all, who ever heard of anything good coming out of a backwater place like Galilee?  

The chief priest and Pharisees quickly dug into their position...so much so that when Nicodemus and the Temple police dared to challenge them, the Pharisees accused them of letting themselves be deceived by a charlatan.  If only they knew their scriptures like the Pharisees did, they would realize that no prophet would ever come out of Galilee.  Thus, they condemned Jesus and his followers without ever truly listening to them.

It important to understand that Pharisees were not bad people.  They were highly educated, truly sought to follow God's commandments, and constantly debated how to help others do so in their day to day life.   In fact, they could be compared to any number of modern day Christian pastors and/or lay leaders who seek to apply God's Word to our daily lives.  They were just so sure of what they thought should happen that they refused to listen to anyone who disagreed with them.  Because of this, they weren't able to recognize the Messiah in their midst.

What would have happened, though, if they had really listened to Nicodemus and the Temple police?  What if they had treated those who disagreed with them with respect and truly considered what they had to say?  Perhaps they would have come around to acknowledging that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah.  Maybe history would have been a bit different.

The first step in learning to remaining faithful together during times of disagreement is to trust that people mean well and truly listen to them.  This means that instead of tuning people out or judging them, we have to make ourselves vulnerable enough to repeat back what we think they are saying and ask them to clarify anything we may have misunderstood.  It also means trying to be on the lookout for moments of connection instead of mentally picking apart their words in search of a way to "win" an argument.  In other words, we must learn to listen before we speak.

I'll admit that truly listening to someone can be difficult...especially when I really care about a topic.  I like to win; and it is oh-so-tempting to think that those who disagree with me must be flat-out wrong.  Over time, I've realized that when I try to put myself in someone else's mental shoes and ask some followup questions, I will discover that the people I disagree with aren't nearly as evil, dumb, or mean-spirited as I first believed.  Sometimes I even decide that they are right about something...or at least not entirely wrong.  Even when I still majorly disagree with them, I can utilize my better understanding of where they are coming from to build some bridges and help them understand my point of view.   

Show that we are able to truly listen to others that we begin building bridges of trust that help others listen to us.  Together, we can seek common ground and find ways to keep loving each other.  Over time, keeping the lines of communication open and listening for the voice of Christ will help lead us to a correct way of thinking...whatever that may be.

Today, I challenge us to live into the first part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program's guidance.  Let's promise to give the people we disagree with a fair hearing...to listen before we answer or pass judgement on another.  This small yet surprisingly difficult first step will help us learn to speak our own truth and build unity with others.  Who knows?  Perhaps seeing an in issue from another person's perspective will even convince us to change our minds. 

Prayer

 Spirit of Wisdom and Graciousness, you inhabit all people.  When we disagree with one another, help us listen for your still small voice inside each of us so that we can work together to discern your will.  May we learn to see your presence within one another and rejoice in our ability to learn and grow together.  Amen.