Reading
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NET)
Reflection
Sunday, Pastor Mark talked about the connection between listening and gaining wisdom. It reminded me of my childhood. I grew up with my two twin great uncles who were autistic. So in my home we practiced the “six second rule.” The rule is simple: When you ask a person with autism a question wait at least six seconds before you expect an answer. People with autism process things differently and communicate differently. My grandmother explained it this way, “Give it time and listen carefully to your great uncles and you’ll be rewarded.”
Because of the rule I learned to be patient with my great uncles and to listen carefully to their responses. For my patience and careful listening, I was rewarded with wonderful gifts. They taught me how to whittle. They taught me about rhythm in music and gave me a little drum to play as they strummed guitars and sang. Most of all, they taught me that I was loved unconditionally.
Author Eknath Easwaran tells about a man who came to him complaining about the struggles he was having talking to his father: “We don’t argue or anything,” he said. “We just care about such different things. When he starts to talk about golf, I want to scream. I have no interest in golf whatsoever. Of course,” he added “I would never tell him that.”
Easwaran responded, “Then it’s simple, You don’t need to have any interest in golf. What you’re interested in is your father. Just listen to him and not to the golf.”
God’s most powerful command to Israel was “shema,” the word we translate as ‘hear’ in Deuteronomy 6:4. God wanted his people to listen and hear a message about how they could experience God’s love. In fact, in the original Hebrew the phrase was, “love the Lord with your whole heart.” The heart in Hebrew understanding is the home of the soul. God is saying, “listen and know my love in the center of your whole being.”
I can’t think of a more important message to hear!
Prayer
Today God, help me to pause and listen to what is said to me. Reveal your will to me in what I hear and let my listening bless others. Amen
