Thursday, October 24, 2024
Rabbi Nahum Ward-Lev describes how the ancient prophets listened for God’s liberating word:
At its heart, the prophetic witness was a way of listening, listening beyond the social norms of the day, listening to the word of the liberating God. The prophets urged the people to listen to God’s word because the discourse of the king, princes, and wealthy landowners was too narrow and was limited to the interests of these elites. This conversation did not include the voices of suffering people. The prophets, in God’s name, offered a much broader discourse, a conversation that listened to and addressed the needs of the poor and the disadvantaged….
The prophetic listening tradition is alive today to inspire people to listen beyond the established conversation. The prophetic tradition challenges us to listen especially to the cries of those who suffer and to listen to the voice of alternative possibility, to the voice of God.
Ward-Lev shares that the living presence of God is still calling to us today:
The Living Presence also speaks within our lives, wordlessly calling us out into life, encouraging us to grow beyond our current limitations. This Presence breathes into us desires and visions of whom we might become. Listening to the word of God is opening to the often-wordless speech of this Presence, allowing the transcendent to touch us, to inspire us, to beckon us across boundaries, to take the next step in our lives. Listening well to our inner lives—to the thoughts, inclinations, images, and emotions that arise within us—is an important practice along the liberation journey. Listening is essential in relationship to the Living Presence and in mutual relationship with people….
In my life, listening is a prime spiritual practice. Throughout the day, I seek to listen. I find that I sometimes hear the words but do not bring my full attention to listening. A friend is speaking to me; am I listening with a quiet mind? I see the beauty of the roses in my garden. Am I listening internally, taking a moment to notice the effect that the beauty of the roses has on me? I hear an undocumented immigrant in my community describe how her family lives in fear. Am I listening with a responsive heart? I read a story in the newspaper about heroin addiction in our state. Am I listening? I study a passage in Scripture. Am I paying attention to the details in the passage? Am I providing the time and attention to notice what the text might be stirring up in me?…
Listening is an essential practice along the liberation journey. Deep listening challenges our internal status quo and exposes us to new possibilities. The world is full of possibilities for healing and wholeness, for well-being and joy. Like the biblical prophets and contemporary people who live in their lineage, all those of us on a liberation journey are called to listen, to learn, and then to act to bring a more fruitful future into the world.
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Sarah Young Jesus Calling
Jesus Calling: October 24th
Come to Me when you are hurting, and I will soothe your pain. Come to Me when you are joyful, and I will share your Joy, multiplying it many times over. I am All you need, just when you need it. Your deepest desires find fulfillment in Me alone.
This is the age of self-help, Bookstores abound with books about “taking care of number one,” making oneself the center of all things. The main goal of these methodologies is to become self-sufficient and confident. You, however, have been called to take a “road less traveled”: continual dependence on Me. True confidence comes from knowing you are complete in My Presence. Everything you need has its counterpart in Me.
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
John 15:5 (NLT)
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
Additional insight regarding John 15:5: “Fruit” is not limited to soul winning. In this chapter, answer prayer, joy, and love are mentioned as fruit (John 15:7, 11, 12). Galatians 5:22-24 and 2nd Peter 1:5-8 describe additional fruit: qualities of Christian character. Remaining in Christ means (1) believing that he is God’s Son, (2) receiving him as Savior and Lord, (3) doing what God says, (4) continuing to believe in the Good News, and (5) relating in love to the community of believers, Christ’s body.
James 1:4 (NIV)
4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
