Towards the Ascension

John 16:5-6 But now I go my way to Him that sent Me; and none of you asks me, Where are you going? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Having faced the seeming loss that the arrest and death of Jesus had upon the disciples followed by the wonder and mystery of Christ’s resurrection appearance, the disciples now face another mystery in the seeming loss of Jesus presence once more.

Yet Jesus, prior to his death had already begun to prepare the disciples for such an event.

From this interchange recorded in John’s gospel it would seem that the disciples suffered from that human condition of selective hearing. They focused on their own situation. Hearing Jesus speak of leaving them, they became sad and downcast. They seemed unable to pay attention to what Jesus was saying to them, of receiving his assurance that he would send them his Spirit. So like us, we too often focus on what we are missing and fail to really listen to the voice of God.

How often do we find ourselves in a similar situation where we only half listen to the words of Jesus and focus on an immediate issue but miss the greater truth. An example of this is the  $100,000 error that was caused by a dispatcher who routed a fleet of drivers to deliver building materials to the wrong state. The dispatcher heard the city (Portland), but quit listening before he heard the state (Maine). The result: eight trucks were sent 3,000 miles away to Portland, Oregon. 

I recently read, “To listen is to continually give up all expectation and to give our attention, completely and freshly, to what is before us, not really knowing what we will hear or what that will mean. In the practice of our days, to listen is to lean in, softly, with a willingness to be changed by what we hear.” It took quite a while for that change to be realised by the disciples.

To hear—really hear—amid the noise

to risk being open to another perspective

amid the impacted certainties

to be able to listen to impassioned pleas

while owning the cries that come from our own hearts.

To hear an argument that does not resonate

disagree, if that be our call,

without demeaning the bearer of the words.

Amid the colliding words

injured by the words

injuring with our words:

help us to hear

your Words. Amen