Listening for God

Summertime can give people a little different pace of life. Students are off from school; vacations are planned; gatherings take place to catch up with family or friends. Sometimes a shifted pace of life offers an opportunity for reflection as well. It seems like we are living through times that could use plenty of reflection. It feels like the world has been going through so much transition the past several years and people are having a difficult time keeping up. Challenges become a bit more pronounced in a world that is changing. One of the things I ask people when stories of confusion or difficulty or challenge are shared with me is this: what do you think God is telling you about all this?

That’s a question I think we ought to be asking more often. It is good to have some time of reflection that seeks God out and searches for God’s voice. We can give a bit of structure to that quest. The question of what God is saying to us is not a new question at all. In fact, it is one of the reasons that we have the Bible. Scripture is a collection of written documents that all point to what God has said, and it is a message God continues to say through these words of the Bible. The author of Hebrews says it this way.

Hebrews 1:1–3 NIV

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

common threads that run through the words of scripture from the Old Testament into the New Testament

From the prophets of the Old Testament to the gospel of Jesus in the New Testament, the Word of God comes to us through the Bible. At the same time, this collection of ancient books and letters that we know as scripture spreads across a vast expanse of time and comes from a diverse set of authors. For these upcoming weeks of the summer I want us to spend some time considering how there are common threads that run through the words of scripture from the Old Testament into the New Testament. We are going to use a rather well-established structure of Bible readings known as the lectionary. Lectionaries are groupings of weekly Bible readings that draw from various parts of scripture. In the 1960s after Vatican II, the Roman Catholic Church pulled together these various readings into something which was published as the Common Lectionary. It has a three-year cycle of readings that pulls passages every week from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Gospels. In the 1980s it was updated a bit and is now published as the Revised Common Lectionary.

We are going to use the weekly readings from the Revised Common Lectionary as our basis in the coming weeks to look for some common threads that run throughout the Bible. Finding these common threads of scripture can then give us a little better grasp on being able to know what it is that God is saying to us through his word. This week we are using the lectionary reading from the Old Testament, the Psalms, and the Gospels.

Amos 8:1–12 NIV

1 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see, Amos?” he asked. “A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered. Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. 3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!” 4 Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, 5 saying, “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?”— skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, 6 buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. 7 The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget anything they have done. 8 “Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. 9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your religious festivals into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day. 11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.

Psalm 52:1–9 NIV

1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? 2 You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor. 3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. 4 You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue! 5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. 6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at you, saying, 7 “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!” 8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. 9 For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.

Luke 10:38–42 NIV

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

common thread in this week’s lectionary passages has to do with listening to the word of God

I know there could be a whole sermon in each one of these passages. For this series we are not going to get bogged down in the intricate details of poetry and language and historical context. Rather, as much as we can, let’s stick with a simple reading of what the Bible says when putting a string of passages side-by-side. We take these three examples and ask the question, is there a common thread woven among them? Is there anything that jumps out as a connected theme? In the example of this week’s lectionary readings, the common thread has to do with listening to the word of God.

Amos — foretelling a day when people will no longer be able to hear the word of God

The prophet Amos is foretelling a day when people will no longer be able to hear the word of God. He speaks of a day when all there will be from God is silence. These prophecies come in place when Israel and Judah fall to the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. These words come to pass when the people of Israel are taken as exiles and their cities are destroyed. Amos declares that this silence for God is the result of the people’s injustice towards the poor and needy; it is the result of their dishonest gain as they continue to enrich themselves at the expense of those who are already stuck in poverty. Amos speaks of people who then search out for the word of God, but they will not hear it.

Psalm — speaks of those who cling to the hope of God’s favor to once again return

Psalm 52 provides the response of the people during this time. It is a Psalm that acknowledges the wrongs that have been done and the injustice that occurs as the wealthy mistreat the poor. But this Psalm also speaks of those who cling to the hope of God’s favor to once again return. Notice it is all future tense language. It is call from the Psalmist to return to the righteousness of God in anticipation of the Lord’s returning his favor upon his people.

Luke — the word of God appears in Jesus; two responses, Martha & Mary

Against this backdrop of those who search for God’s voice, those who hope for God’s voice, and those who continue in their activities apart from God’s voice, we see this unusual scene in Luke 10. The disciples are there, but the only characters named in this story are Jesus, Martha, and Mary. Jesus is speaking and teaching; Martha is franticly working to attend to all the details of hosting a dinner gathering; and Mary is sitting there listening to the words of Jesus. In Amos, the voice of God is completely silent, even among those who are searching to hear it. In the Psalm, the voice of God is anticipated among those who hope for it. And in Luke, the voice of God has arrived in the words of Jesus. And this time, Mary hears it and listens while Martha is distracted and misses it. Jesus ends the scene by noting that Mary has chosen the better thing by sitting to listen to Jesus. Jesus is calling attention to the common thread pulled through these scriptures, that the voice of God is again revealed. Mary is listening; Martha is not.

This time, though, there is not judgement. Martha is not rejected by Jesus. Rather, it seems that Jesus is quite pastoral in his response to Martha. It is a gentle correction which reminds Martha that Mary has done no wrong in choosing to listen to the voice of God. Even here in Martha’s frustrated outburst, Jesus pulls this common thread to remind us God is again speaking, if we would but free ourselves of distraction that we might hear it and listen.

an invitation to hear God’s word and listen

The common thread among these passages from old and new testaments provides for us an invitation to hear God’s word and listen. Let’s focus in on the takeaway that will be especially helpful for us to see. Listening for God is a thread that is woven all throughout the expanse of the Bible. It is not a one-and-done event. And it is not a transactional event. Listening to the voice of God in scripture spreads throughout the entirety of the life of faith. The people who lived back in the time of Amos were not listening for the voice of God in the days of their excess and injustice. And then when circumstances changed they cried out, but because they had not listened before, there was nothing for them to hear now. If the only time we ever turn our attention to the voice of God is when we need something from God, do not be surprised if it feels like all you hear is silence. If the only time we search for God is when we feel like we need some kind of transaction from God, do not be surprised if his voice appears to be absent.

Martha only turns her attention to Jesus when she wants Jesus to do something for her

That’s Martha’s story. Martha only came bursting into the presence of Jesus when she thought she needed something from him. Martha was looking for a transaction when she approached Jesus—she had something specific that she wanted Jesus to do for her. The thing that Martha wanted from Jesus was a little divine authority to help coerce her sister, Mary, into doing what Martha wanted. There was no thought in Martha’s head of what Mary wanted or needed; and there was no thought in Martha’s head of what Jesus wanted or needed. The only thought in Martha’s head is what Martha wanted. And Martha sought out Jesus with only that agenda in mind.

Mary listens to Jesus without any controlling agenda

Mary, on the other hand, does not appear to come before Jesus with any particular transaction in mind. Mary simply wants to hear from Jesus. Mary only wants to be in the presence of Jesus an listen to what Jesus says. We see here the way that Jesus in the gospels brings this common thread forward from scripture. Those who dedicate a regular priority on listening to the word of God as it speaks through scripture will hear the voice of God in those words. No agenda, no demands, no transactions; just listening. Don’t ignore or neglect the word of God in scripture until the moment of crisis or urgency springs upon you. Hear his voice in scripture now today and every day. Then, when challenges arise, when confusing events unfold, when difficulties surround, and when the question is asked ‘what do you think God is saying to you?’ You will already know the answer, because you will have already heard his voice.