Listen Up!

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:1-9 ESV). There have been many times in the past forty five years that I have been preaching to a “rowdy crowd.” There are always small children who cannot be expected to be silent throughout the service, much less a thirty minute sermon! There have been times when I have been coaching a young team of soccer players and while teaching a particular technique or play, their exuberance overflows and they do more talking than listening. It is those times when I want to simply shout, “Listen up!” God must feel that way from time to time. Our reading today is one of these times when Jesus tells a very important truth to the disciples and ends by saying, “Listen up!” Mark records the Lord saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This has more to do with spiritual listening. It is possible to hear God's Word with our ears, but not with our hearts. Jesus knew that we can often hear without understanding. That is why He would so often say, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" It is attention with intention. I’ve done some air travel in my life thus far. Some were short hops while others were long transatlantic trips. When I get on a plane and take my seat, I really don't listen carefully to the safety message that the flight attendants give before every single flight. They have a long list of information to give out, pointing out the exits and the location of the oxygen masks and life vests. But often I don't pay attention. I have heard it so many times, so I think I don't need to listen. But what if a few minutes after takeoff the pilot came on the intercom again and said something like this? "We are currently experiencing some technical difficulties, and the flight attendant is going to go through that safety message for you one more time," I can guarantee you that I would be listening. Then it would make a difference to me; my life would depend on it. I would really want to know where those exits are, how to use my seat as a flotation device, and what steps I might need to take to survive an emergency. When you think about it, that's how we need to be reading the Word of God. Not as a ho-hum morning routine where we're skimming a passage and not really even thinking about it. No, we need to listen carefully. I encourage you to Listen Up!