Listening

Have you ever heard the request, “be and angel and….” followed by a particular request for some kind of assistance. We also have the well known phrase from scripture, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2

I wonder, if you have ever thought of yourself as an angel; what kind of angel would  you be?

An old Persian legend once pictured four angels watching God create the world. One said, "Why did God make it?" Another said, "How did God make it?" A third said, "Can I have it?" And the fourth said, "Can I help to make it better?"

The first had a  philosophical attitude - why?

The second had a scientific attitude - how?

The third had selfish attitude - can I have it?

The fourth had a Christlike attitude - Can I help to make it better?

The definition of an angel is, a spiritual being believed to act as an attendant, agent, or messenger of God.

In the final verse of Charles Wesley’s carol, Hark the herald angels sing, we find the words:-

Join the triumph of the skies

With angelic host proclaim

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing.

It was St Augustine who coined the phrase, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”

As we come to the end of one year and enter another may we pray:-

God, we are aliens and sojourners in this world,

but you invite us to be your guests.

You lavishly offer us your hospitality

and lovingly welcome us into your family,

You invite us to share in the abundance of your kingdom.

God, you have shown us that providing hospitality to strangers opens a doorway into the Kingdom of God. Remind us that when we offer hospitality to others,

we are receiving Christ into our midst and so fulfilling the law of love.

We open our hearts to embrace the stranger, the friend, the rich, and the poor,

We open our lives to offer a generous heart toward all. Amen

Listening

When does the greeting, ‘Happy Christmas” loose its impact? 

The story is told of a father who decided that Christmas was going to be different this year. He called a family conference and challenged his family to be more disciplined in the management of their time during the busy Christmas season. They had to curtail excessive spending on gifts. He talked about better relations between visiting relatives and a more congenial atmosphere around their home. He brought his speech to a crescendo with his final rallying cry, “Let’s make this the BEST Christmas EVER!”

I wonder if the anticipated outcome actually met its goal?

One of the Carols that I love is “Cradled in a manger lowly” by George Stringer Rowe - 1830-1913 and contains the words, “Happy those who hear the message of his coming from above; Happier still who hail his coming, and with praise greet his love.”

However, let me ask you, is there a difference between Joy and Happiness? Samuel Dickey Gordon, a prolific author and evangelical lay minister says that “Joy is distinctly a Christian word and a Christian thing. It is the reverse of happiness. Happiness is the result of what happens of an agreeable sort. Joy has its springs deep down inside. And that spring never runs dry, no matter what happens. Only Jesus gives that joy. He had joy, singing its music within, even under the shadow of the cross.”

Back to our carol for today. The third verse contains the words

Evil things are there before Thee;

In the heart, where they have fed,

Wilt Thou pitifully enter,

Son of Man, and lay Thy head?

Enter, then, O Christ most holy;

Make a Christmas in my heart;

Make a heaven of my manger:

It is heaven where Thou art.

Perhaps we should look for the Joy we read of in 1 Peter 1:8-9. “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

It may seem naive,

    in a world of grief,

        to choose to live in joy;

It may seem foolish,

    in a world where solemnity is power,

        to sing and dance to a different tune;

It may seem cruel,

    in a world of suffering and injustice,

        to speak of light and celebration;

But you have come, Jesus,

    to bring joy into our grief,

        light into our darkness,

        singing into our mourning;

    and it is an act of healing and proclamation

        to believe and embrace the joy you offer.

Joy to the world!

    The Lord is come!

        Hallelujah!

Amen.

Listening

Continuing on from yesterday’s carol we now turn to a line from Away in a manger, where we find the words, “No crying he makes.” I think that this line is a little bit of poetic licence, for naturally, all babies make their needs known when they require nourishment. 

My guess is that the point of this line in “Away in the Manger” is that even though the circumstances of Jesus’ birth were less than ideal that Jesus and His family were at peace. But to say that the baby Jesus didn’t cry to is to stretch the limits of poetic license to the breaking point. In the first place, the biblical text nowhere says this and in the second place, how realistic is it to think that Jesus wouldn’t cry? Babies cry. Jesus was a baby. Jesus would have cried and done all of the other things that babies do in the real world.

We need silence in our lives. We even desire it. But when we enter into silence we encounter a lot of inner noises, often so disturbing that a busy and distracting life seems preferable to a time of silence. Two disturbing “noises” present themselves quickly in our silence: the noise of lust and the noise of anger. Lust reveals our many unsatisfied needs, anger our many unresolved relationships. But lust and anger are very hard to face.

“What are we to do?” Asks Henri Nouwen. “Jesus says, “Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13). Sacrifice here means “offering up,” “cutting out,” “burning away,” or “killing.” We shouldn’t do that with our lust and our anger. It simply won’t work. But we can be merciful toward our own noisy selves and turn these enemies into friends.”

Well might we pray:-

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.

Listening

Perhaps the most favoured carol of all time, sung in many languages is  Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht first sung in 1818 at Oberndorf, Austria. The need to be silent in order to hear what God has to say is still an important aspect of following Jesus. 

So often we need tune our ears to hear God’s voice. It’s like the child who was told by his father during a symphony orchestra concert, “Listen for the flutes in this song. Don’t they sound beautiful?” The child, unable to distinguish the flutes, looks up at his father with a puzzled look, “What flutes, father?”

The child first needs to learn what flutes sound like on their own, separate from the whole orchestra, before he is able to hear them in a symphony. So it is with us as children of God. Unless we take the time to hear his voice in the quiet moments of life, we will not be able to hear him in the symphony sounds of life.

And we need to be reminded that the symphony of life includes the whole family of humanity. 

The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (13:2)

May we truly hear the cry of the poor, hungry, sick, afflicted and marginalised in our midst this Christmas. And may we respond in love, acting with mercy and justice to help bring about that ‘Silent Night’ and New Creation that we all yearn for. Until that time comes, may God strengthen us to struggle onward for peace and justice.” Amen

Listening

There is one line of a carol that always seems to shout out to me each year.  It is found in the third verse of It came upon a midnight clear; the line ‘Oh hush the noise ye men of strife and let the angels sing.

The whole verse, in light of the world’s conflicts, sets an even starker image this Christmas time. 

But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring; –
Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!

From another period of conflict, Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book Life Together - the classic exploration of Christian in Community - reminds us of the importance of listening. ‘Christians . . . so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.’

The prophet Isaiah would have us to start listening to God, “Listen to me, you who know the right from wrong and cherish my laws in your hearts: don’t be afraid of people’s scorn or their slanderous talk.” Isaiah 51:7

In her hymn Listening God you hear us when we cannot speak, Marjorie Dobson gives us a lesson as to how we should regard the listing ear of God.

Listening God, you hear us when we cannot speak,
when despair and turmoil leave us faint and weak.
In love you call us back to you again
and your grace reminds us how you feel our pain.

God we praise you that you’re a listening God, you listen to the cry of your people across the world. Come to us in our pain and in our despair and clothe us in the garments of love. Amen

Listening

Do you hear what I hear?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

1807 – 1882

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

    And wild and sweet

    The words repeat 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

    Had rolled along

    The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

    A voice, a chime,

    A chant sublime 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

    And with the sound 

    The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

    And made forlorn

    The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

    "For hate is strong,

    And mocks the song 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

    The Wrong shall fail,

    The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

O that today of all days -  ‘the people who walk in darkness will see a great light.’ And that ‘The light will shine on those living in the land of dark shadows.’ Isaiah 9:2

O God, 

When the world grows dark

and the advance of evil appears unstoppable,

may we never lose our vision

of Emmanuel's light.

When society seems uncaring

and indifference predominates,

may we never forget the warmth

of Emmanuel's love.

When people cry out for justice

but self-interest prevails,

may we never lose the fire

of Emmanuel's anger.

When we know we must speak out

but our tongue seems to shrivel,

may we draw boldness from the truth

of Emmanuel's proclamations.

 

When those we must confront are powerful

and our hearts grow fearful,

may we take strength from the courage

of Emmanuel's actions.

O God,

When the moment comes

and we must make our stand,

may it always be

at Emmanuel's side.