Active Listening

Do you consider yourself a doer?

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. - James 1:22-24

I like to think of James as the apostle for deacons, because he cuts to the chase and challenges us to get out there into the world to do the Gospel.

It is not enough, he says, to be hearers of the Word.  We need to act on what we hear.

I first encountered James on a retreat weekend, while praying alone in a chapel.  I felt he was speaking directly to me, telling me to put my faith into action.

It is a shame that we don't often hear his words in church.  He is not one of the regulars included in the readings, so few get to hear his message.  To experience him, you have to go out of your way to find him at the back of the New Testament, among the epistles.

In today's reading, he likens the hearer of the Word to a person who fails to remember what he is like after looking at himself in a mirror.

It is an odd thing to say, for who doesn't know what they look like?

But perhaps the message is that we tend to see ourselves differently than others see us, and that is a message Jesus also gave us with his reference to the way we can spot a fleck in someone else's eye but fail to see the log in our own.

So, what is it that James wants us to get out and do?

I think it may boil down to a simple life recipe - Hear, Pray, Do.

Today, we will hear a message in the Gospel, and it may be somewhat confusing or unclear what action can come from the messages we get.

So, after we hear the message, we need to pray.

I don't think it needs to be a formal prayer.  It can be like a simple meditation, taking time to pause and let the message sink in, seeking God's help through his Spirit to guide our thoughts.

I find when I take time to be still with God, I get inspired to act, and that is where the Do comes from.

It may take a while to formulate into a real plan of action.  The Do part is sometimes an evolution, rather than a revolution.  The more I do, the more God reveals to me opportunities to do more.

For some of us, it may take time for the process of transformation from hearer to doer to take place.  But I have found far greater joy in doing than in hearing alone.

And sometimes, what we hear makes no sense to us at all, so the prayer part is critical.

So, today, as I listen to the messages in the Gospel, I will undoubtedly be perplexed and confused about how they pertain to me in my daily world and work, but if I pray about it, and I let a little time pass, something will come to me.

It is how God works, in the stillness with whispers, not shouts.

Why not take the first step with me and follow the recipe - Hear, Pray, Do.

And I look forward to seeing you doing amazing things in God's name in the future.

More to come...