Keen Listening
As a part of Trinity's Lenten Practice, we are reading Morning Prayer every weekday during Lent at 6:30 a.m. To connect what we're doing with the life of the larger Church (and in particular, the Diocese of Milwaukee), we're following along in the Diocesan Lenten Bible Study on the Gospel of Matthew. You can find this study at:
http://biblestudywithbishopmiller.blogspot.com/
Because of our schedule and that of the Diocese, we're a day behind with our readings, so today, we read Matthew's Nativity account (1:18-2:12) and the devotional comments offered by Deacon Kiss. As I listened to the leader read the reflection, the line that caught my attention is the one quoted above. I began to wonder:
How do we sharpen our spiritual listening skills so that they are "keen" -- razor sharp?
What would it be like to inhabit a community in which listening for/to God and each other was more important than getting our own message out?
How do we listen below the cacophony of sounds that assault us day in and day out to hear the whisper of the Spirit?
I don't have any answers to these questions, but given the climate in our culture these days, having our ears open to keenly listen seems like a laudable (and lifelong!) mission. What do you think?
"...keen listening will take us to some surprising places into and beyond the mystery of Christ."
--The Rev. Deacon Marge Kiss, All Saints' Cathedral, Milwaukee, WI
As a part of Trinity's Lenten Practice, we are reading Morning Prayer every weekday during Lent at 6:30 a.m. To connect what we're doing with the life of the larger Church (and in particular, the Diocese of Milwaukee), we're following along in the Diocesan Lenten Bible Study on the Gospel of Matthew. You can find this study at:
http://biblestudywithbishopmiller.blogspot.com/
Because of our schedule and that of the Diocese, we're a day behind with our readings, so today, we read Matthew's Nativity account (1:18-2:12) and the devotional comments offered by Deacon Kiss. As I listened to the leader read the reflection, the line that caught my attention is the one quoted above. I began to wonder:
How do we sharpen our spiritual listening skills so that they are "keen" -- razor sharp?
What would it be like to inhabit a community in which listening for/to God and each other was more important than getting our own message out?
How do we listen below the cacophony of sounds that assault us day in and day out to hear the whisper of the Spirit?
I don't have any answers to these questions, but given the climate in our culture these days, having our ears open to keenly listen seems like a laudable (and lifelong!) mission. What do you think?
posted by FrGaryB | 6:58 PM
2 Comments:
Right on the money. Unfortunately our ability to listen is the inverse ratio of the amount of noise at times - and there is a lot of noise. All the more reason to pay attention to how well we listen and how much we hear.
It is my dream to be a skilled, sincere listener. Now that we need to listen to whispers, it is a great time to start. jill
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