The Ears of Christ
Psalm 54:1-2
March 26, 2006
I am not a great fan of Dr. James Dobson because I have some pretty significant differences of opinion with him about theology, biblical interpretation, and public policy. Yet he has done some very important work in the areas of family relationships and the raising of children.
Years ago, he put out a series of videos about raising children. We showed them when I was on the staff of Trinity Church in Huntington. I remember that at one point he was talking about the need for a parent to get a child’s attention so that the child is able to clearly understand instructions and expectations. He said that sometimes parents are just not clear about what they expect their children to do or about the consequences of misbehavior.
He talked about an incident with his own son, who was then in elementary school. There was an incident when his son was misbehaving, so Dobson took him aside and sat down with him. He very calmly and deliberately said, “Now I want your attention. I want you to look at me. I need you to listen to me very carefully. Are you looking at me? Are you listening to me?” When he was sure he had his son’s undivided attention, he could then give him instructions and lay out for him the expectations for his behavior.
But you know, it is not always children who need to listen to adults. Sometimes adults don’t always listen to children. One day when Christopher was still in elementary school, he was trying to tell me something. I was busy doing something else and not really paying attention to him. He jumped up on a footstool in the living room, grabbed my face between both hands, and said, “DAD, I need you to listen to me.”
We all want to be noticed, to be listened to, to have people pay attention to us. And as hard as it is when friends and neighbors ignore us, it is even harder when we believe that God is not listening or paying attention. Honestly, there are times when it feels like that.
People will often come to me and tell me things about their feelings: lonely, lost, afraid, confused, angry, exhausted, or grief-stricken. So many times I have encouraged these folks to read, meditate, and pray the Psalms. The Psalms were written by real people with real problems: people who had enemies, people who had made terrible mistakes and committed sins too numerous to mention, people who were in the depths of illness or despair, people who had lost sight of God in their lives, people who didn’t know how they were going to face the next day.
The authors of the Psalms wanted God to hear their plight, wanted God to listen, and wanted God to pay attention. That is when we get Psalms like the following.
• Give ear to my words, O Lord…5:1
• Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer…17:1
• Listen to my prayer, O God…55:1
• Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer…61:1
• Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint…64:1
• Hear us, Shepherd of Israel…80:1
• Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob…84:8
• O God, whom I praise, do not remain silent…109:1
Maybe we come to the conclusion that God is indeed listening to us, but has decided, for whatever reason, to ignore our needs. Such feelings breed Psalms like the following.
• How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?...13:1
• My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night and am not silent…(22:1-2
• Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God…38:21
Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent and we are going to focus on the ears of Christ; ears that are always open, ears that always listen, ears that despite our doubts or the doubts of some of the psalmists, are always attuned to the needs of God’s people. When you spend time in the Psalms, you quickly discover that despite momentary questions of God’s presence, the authors continued to nurture a deep faith that, even in tough times, God is still at hand.
Evidence of God’s continuing presence with us is seen in Christ’s ears. Let’s think about the ears of Christ for a minute. They were ears that heard many things. First of all, they were ears that always heard the cries of the people he met.
• A leper came to him one day saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2).
• A religious leader came to him one day and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live” (Matthew 9:18).
• Two blind men called to him from the side of the road. “Have mercy on us, Son of David” (Matthew 9:27).
• As the disciples were by themselves in a boat one night, they saw Jesus come walking to them on the water. Peter called out, “…tell me to come to you on the water” (Matthew 14:28).
• A Canaanite woman cried out to him, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Matthew 15:22).
There never is an instance in the gospels when Jesus did not respond to people in need when they made themselves heard. Whether they needed physical healing or forgiveness for their sins, he always heard and was ready to act. When people asked for signs of his power, he provided what was needed.
Secondly, his ears heard the professions of faith of those who believed. When he raised Lazarus from the dead, he heard Lazarus’ sister Martha confess, “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” When he asked the disciples what people were saying about him, they said some thought he was Elijah, John the Baptist, or one of the prophets. “But who do you say that I am?” he asked. And then he heard the confession of faith from Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” On the day we know now as Palm Sunday, he rode down the Mount of Olives and into the city of Jerusalem, hearing the proclamations of the crowds, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”
Though there were many in that day who did not believe him, did not follow him, and did not understand him; yet there were many who believed. To those, Jesus offered eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Thirdly, his ears heard questions. The disciples of John the Baptist came to him one day to ask: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3). Simon Peter was confused one day and asked, “Explain the parable to us” (Matthew 15:15). Faced with a huge, hungry crowd, the disciples asked: “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” (Matthew 15:33). Another time, unable to understand how Jesus had the power to drive away demons, the disciples asked: “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” (Mark 9:28).
Jesus heard the questions, and then took the time to answer them. He came to earth as Savior of humanity, but wrapped up in that was his role as teacher. As any good teacher takes questions seriously, so did Jesus. Sometimes the questions were asked out of spite or in order to trap him. Sometimes the questions were asked out of ignorance. Sometimes they were genuine questions, searching for answers by which one might be drawn closer to God. Whatever the question, Jesus heard and took the time to answer.
Fourth, his ears heard opposition. It seems as though wherever he went, he heard the voices of those who refused to believe, who would not listen to him, who would not open themselves up to the new and fresh winds of the Spirit.
They tried to throw him off a cliff in Nazareth as a response to his preaching (Luke 4:29). The Pharisees opposed him when they saw that his disciples plucked grain on the Sabbath, not understanding that he was Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5). The same people who said that John the Baptist must have a demon because he didn’t eat bread or drink wine, called Jesus a glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34). As he was driving out a demon, he heard the charge that he must be in league with the devil (Luke 11:15). The chief priests tried to have him arrested because they understood that he had come to give new meaning to the Temple; a new meaning that didn’t include them.
Jesus heard the opposition, but did not allow it to deter him from his ministry. He heard the opposition but knew that the power of God is stronger than any opposing force assembled by human beings. He heard the opposition and grieved over it when he prayed, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed together your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (Matthew 23:37).
He also heard the silence of God. Have you ever felt abandoned, as if God has not heard your prayers, as if God has heard your prayers, or doesn’t care? Jesus had that moment. There on the cross, in the agony of that day, he needed to hear a word from God, but was met with the silence of the heavens. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me? (Mark 33:34).
We continue our Lenten journey with the ears of Christ. What can we learn? Despite our occasional willingness to believe otherwise, Jesus has ears that are tuned to us. He hears our cries of trouble, our questions, our fears and longings. He knows what it is like to feel alone and abandoned. He knows what it is like to be misunderstood.
Through his ears, we learn that there is no opposition that is greater than the power of God to save. There are no questions that cannot be finally answered by Christ. Even though God sometimes seems to be silent, we are never discarded, forsaken, or neglected.
When our ears are opened to the things that Jesus heard, we are enabled to come to complete trust and faith in God. Hearing with the ears of Christ allows us to praise and worship God in fullness and faithfulness.
May anyone who has ears, hear the voice of our Lord.
