Does Anyone Hear Me: Listening at the Well, The necessity of Listening in difficult times

Considering the time we are living through, with its moral and ethical catastrophe as well as a prophetic hope rooted in an uncommon faith, the ground of justice, it is important to examine three components of the Christian tradition. The first one is our relationship with Jesus Christ of Nazareth the only begotten son of the Living God, secondly, our relationships with family, friends, coworkers, church, and those we may have a disagreement with and thirdly listening to the voice of God which may manifest in unexpected places. The voice of God is in creation, its God’s word, it is in the prophets and apostles, it is in God’s ministry.  Of the three components, I want to focus on is active listening. Active Listening is important because our relationship with God and community, that is our communion, is made alive with active listening.  
        Active listening is an invitation to encounter the humanity of the person first as a child of God, God’s sacred pleasure. It is about radically inclusive hospitality that opens hearts and minds to the spirit of God. It can be a most intimate and intoxicating affair if the Christian chooses to put their desires for power and privilege, assumptions, biases, preconceived notions, and socialization aside to know the person beyond societal and class structures that seek to dictate much of the human experience and condition. An example of this happens in John 4:1-42. The biblical text depicts Jesus, traveling through Samaria on his way to Galilee, sitting down at the well in Sychar, and talking to an unnamed Samaritan woman at the well.  After Jesus talked to the woman at the well, she appeared to have been astounded at how Jesus knew such truths about her. As she told the other Samaritans, “He told me everything I ever did” (v. 39). Intrigued, they approached Jesus, and He stayed in their town for two days talking with them. Here is a woman and her community that felt heard. This would seem to be the underlying question of our time, “Do you feel heard?” 
        This is the model of listening I seek to follow as a Christian. Active listening requires time, patience, humbleness, a desire for healing, and a heart of generosity. Most of all, the Christian must want to listen. “Do you want to actively listen?”  Many of the issues and concerns of church and society could be addressed if active listening, to encounter humanity were practiced. I suppose what I am arguing for is the reception of humanity as a primary call to listen and the issues and concerns to be secondary. The first question of church and society should be, “Do You See Me?” “Do I have your attention?” I am mindful of the words of Simone Weil, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity” which engages these questions.  What I glean from the text is both Jesus and the woman are courageous in their attention to each other. This is not a one-sided conversation but an intimate sharing that breaks strict cumbersome boundaries that maintain the marginalization and oppression of the unnamed Samaritan woman and her community. The conversation at the well violates the boundaries which represent unjust cultural assumptions, and a politics, rooted in patriarchy, that denies a full and thriving Samaritan humanity. 
        It would appear, that if we are to live fully in the Christian faith, that is to humbly seek to walk in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth, active listening more so than speaking would be a primary calling of the Christian. James 1:19 says, “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Saint Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel Always, and if necessary, use Words.” Amidst a fast-paced society where trauma is a norm, where desires for instant gratification, the rise of Christian Nationalism, culture wars, authoritarianism, extreme individualism, and the war against a woman’s bodily autonomy and the LGBTQIA+ community are legislative imperatives, the words of James and St. Francis would be wise council. The biblical text for today calls us to develop an appreciation once again for active listening amidst a society where there is great fear of active listening, particularly active listening practiced by the Woman at the Well and Jesus. Failure to actively listen becomes an opportunity for weeds to flourish and thrive, choking out the grace and mercy provided through the cosmic sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. 
        In a time when theological malpractice is rampant, when injustice and cruelty, for many Christians, have become an article of faith, the confessing Christian is called to be mindful of what and who they are listening to. The art of listening keeps the Christian attuned to the Holy Spirit. I long for a time when listening is embraced and appreciated more so than speaking. This may be a long wait. I imagine a time when everybody takes on the responsibility to listen, with intention, to their family members, neighbors, coworkers, friends, and most importantly, those they might have a disagreement with. To be inclusive in their listening is a hallmark of the human experience. A pandemic, an insurrection, rising suicide rates, a politics unhinged more than usual, and mass shootings, are reminders of the importance of listening to hear the voice of the divine amidst those lost in fear, loathing, depression, pain, and hatred. If the Church is going to successfully navigate a process of spiritual and religious renewal, listening must be an essential element.  

The Call to Prophetic Spirituality

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. My last message I shared was Freedom in Christ. It began with Albert Camus’ statement, “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence becomes an act of rebellion.” It was about overcoming stultifying norms that deny an awakening that transforms ones understanding of God’s love, community and most importantly themselves. Freedom in Christ Jesus is necessary if the sincere Christian is to courageously face the cold hard realities of life and to act to alleviate the burdens of this life. Today’s message is “The Call of Prophetic Spirituality.” Prophetic Spirituality, according to St. Jerome’s University, is visionary and yet practical, evades no reality but embraces the possibility of newness. It enables us to live with faith and energy, somewhere between hope and despair.  It is about an honest assessment of where we are in our own journey as well as church and society and those emerging possibilities of transformation that keep our hopes and dreams alive. It is within these complex, at times complicated relationships and intersectionality's that our Christian faith is deepened and defined becoming a resource of wisdom, assurance and a radically inclusive hospitality.  It is a Christian faith exemplified by the poem, Come Yet Again Come written by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī.  Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving and come, come, whoever you are this isn’t a caravan of despair. (2x) It doesn’t matter if you’ve broken your vows a thousand times before. And yet again, Come, again, come.  

    Amidst these challenging times when Christian Nationalism, a committed partner of white supremacy and its particular brand of theological malpractice the words of Rumi’s poem are a reminder that the Church of Jesus Christ is about radically inclusive hospitality today and has been about historically and globally, even in its many shortcomings and growing edges. The radically inclusive hospitality embodied in Rumi’s poem are about seeking what Gary Cummins, author of If Only We Could See, Mystical Vision and Social Transformation call the God Realm. Seeking the God realm is the underlying importance of diversity and looking at history from a prophetic perspective as one means to live fully into the Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes, the manifesto of Jesus. Matthew 5:1-12 presents a radical and liberating shift in the autobiography of those communities on the margins of Roman and Jewish society.  

    The implication of the word “blessed” within the autobiography of those on the margins is a tectonic shift in the meaning of their lives that made Jesus even more of an existential threat to those in power. Evelyn Underhill, Victorian student of mysticism, retreat leader, writer and spiritual director says that “At the heart of Jesus’ Spiritual teachings she found seeds of social revolution.”  She concludes her analysis of the Lord’s Prayer by teaching that the real Christian is always revolutionary, belongs to a new race, and has been given a new name and a new song.” We should give careful consideration to the Lord’s Prayer to encounter a new transformative vision for Church and Society. 

There is something about Jesus that gives new and revolutionary meaning to all who would choose to be in communion with the Savior, no matter the sacrifice.  This concept of meaning was something that Howard Thurman dealt with in his own life.  A motivating question asked repeatedly by Howard Thurman according to Luther E. Smith, author of Howard Thurman’s essential writings, is, “How can I believe that life has meaning if I do not believe that my own life has meaning in a new and revolutionary way and that it is the ground of liberation and freedom in Christ Jesus?” 

  Howard Thurman’s motivating question amidst the daily demands of this life, the joys, concerns, and the many growing edges of our life's is a reminder that each of us must see our life and the life of our neighbor as meaningful and valuable. One way to discover the meaning and value of our lives is through journaling our autobiography. This is something I began to do at the advice of my therapist as I grappled with life’s changes. Journaling our autobiography is a way to see how our life is connected to spirituality.  It is about finding ourselves and how the spirit of God is moving in our lives. For many people of faith journaling their autobiography is important in developing an inner awareness, and a different more liberated consciousness as a matter of religious experience, as they seek to know life in its fullest possible grace or significance. 

In the face of unjust and inhumane legislation and policies we read about in Isaiah 10:1-3 and put forward by those who embrace an authoritarian church and political regime statements such as Black Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter, statements on diversity which are reminiscent of “I am Somebody” and an fuller accounting of America history are about meaning and value.  Our present national tragedy and its brand of politics is about what lives matter, what lives have value and in this sense it is about who holds the power in church and society. This is an age old question which made Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, and William Barber, Liz Theoharis and the Poor People’s campaign for some politicians an existential threat.  

This takes us back to Matthew 5:1-12 and the process of social transformation and how the Holy Spirit moves. The Holy Spirit was and continues to be on the front lines of social, religious, and spiritual transformation. This is how we can remain hopeful in the face of circumstances and situations that seem hopeless.  Prophetic Spirituality puts forward a compelling radical truth that God is in solidarity with those who are poor, low wealth, the working class, those who are houseless and living in poverty and many more who are struggling, some in silence.  This is the central tenant movements like the Poor People’s Campaign, A National Call for a Moral Revival and the environmental justice movements like the Sunrise movement.  

Yesterday, I was in conversation with a good friend who lives in Virginia who is just beginning to awaken. They’ve come a long way in their thinking regarding cultural, religious and economic concerns. It was a conversation I never could have imagined. The conversation let me know that the Holy Spirit is at work. It reminded me to trust God amidst an awakening that is the ground of God’s revolution. Gary Cummins writes, “the revolution of God seeks the complete transformation of all that is –unjust systems and the chaotic, twitching, random movements and countermovements of politics and economics – into all that can be: God’s will done on earth.”  This is God’s work and we are blessed to be a part of what God is doing in the world today. 

In closing, I would like to leave you with some questions I’ve reflected upon. You can  reflect on these questions at your convenience (1) Are you sensitive to God’s presence? Have you ever felt that you’ve encountered God, (2) Do you feel that your life has meaning and value and (3) Have you ever journaled your autobiography?  If so, what did you discover.  

Let us Pray