Deaf and Dumbfounded

Theater in Ephesus

Sometimes it is hard to just walk away.

Some people are good at it.  When they get frustrated or find themselves at odds with an issue or person, they have no problem silencing themselves and moving on, leaving the situation where it is.

I am one of those more obstinate ones who considers it a failure on my part if I turn to leave without reaching a proper solution or understanding.

Of course, the other person may see me as being the one unwilling to be swayed, and that may be true, but what if I am right?

When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. - Acts 19:9

In The Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells us that Paul and his followers ran into this problem when he was tell the congregation of the Synagogue in Ephesus about Jesus.

Instead of arguing his position to try to convince them that they were wrong, he left and set up shop elsewhere.  That probably means the audience was different as well.

It must have been a bit frustrating for him, having been a lot like those who spoke evil of the followers of the Way, since he had been one of them.  In fact, he had gone farther in his zeal, to the point of trying to wipe them out.

Perhaps he saw himself in the faces in that congregation.  Perhaps he felt like a failure, unable to bring the Word of God to the People of God.

That is the job of the Deacon!

In one of my Epiphany moments, I realize that.  My job is to do what Paul did.  So, which Paul am I emulating?  The one who took the Word into the Synagogue or the one who left and took it elsewhere?

In other words, am I taking the Gospel to people who don't want to hear it?  Or am I avoiding them and only sharing the Word of God with those who are receptive?

But Paul didn't go to the ones who didn't want to hear him only once.  He had spent three months speaking in the Synagogue before taking his soap box down the street.  And then he continued for two years, speaking to anyone who would listen, as well as many who would not.

I can feel pretty good about sharing the Gospel with others, helping all of us to deepen our faith.  But what about the others?

What about the deaf and dumbfounded?  What about those who find it all ridiculous?  Do they not deserve to hear?

All of us who take up our ministry to share the Word need to ask God if we are reaching the ears we are sent out to reach.  Maybe, like Paul,  I need to find a place out in the open, where I can reach those others and they can hear what God has to say to them, in His words.

If I am preaching to the choir, I may be the one who is deaf to God's will, and that has me dumbfounded!