Sacred Listening
How do you listen?
“No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.” Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?” - Luke 8:16-25
Pay attention to how you listen. That is the advice Jesus gives his disciples.
Listening has depth. The Benedictines practice sacred listening, which begins where most of us end.
The start of deep, sacred listening is paying attention, quietly, without comment or thought.
This is the hard part for most of us. Our minds can't help becoming active when someone is speaking to us. We split our attention between the act of hearing and the act of plotting our next move, our next response.
The monks believe that it is in the silent listening, that deep, deep quiet that flows through us when we truly listen, that we are changed.
And Luke shows us in today's Gospel reading that the disciples had not fully mastered this deep listening, for when the windstorm rose us, they were frightened.
Should they have been?
Where is your faith? Jesus asks.
Jesus expected them to have been changed by his words, and they were not. They were lost in their own thoughts rather than deep in the peace of having truly listened to his message.
We do that too.
We superficially listen and let our minds wander, disrupting the peace that comes with understanding of the truth of our faith.
If we truly believe, and we trust Jesus, we remain calm in the storm.
More to come...