Lent Day 27: April 8

Lenten Reflection for Day 27

Date: Friday April 8, 2011

Author: Pastor Pat Harris

Bible Passage:

Job 13:17 (NRSV)

¹⁷ Listen carefully to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears.

Reflection:

This passage from the book of Job, is part of Job’s plea to both his so-called friends and to God, asking them to really listen to him. Job has suffered terribly, and his friends assume that he must have done something incredibly wrong for God to have punished him in this way. Job declares his innocence to both his former friends and to God. However, these so-called friends are so invested in their view of God and their belief that God only sends bad things to people who have been bad, that they simply can’t believe that Job could be innocent. Job is pleading for his words to penetrate into their ears and their hearts.

Sometimes we believe something so strongly that we simply cannot hear another person’s point of view. When the person with the opposing view speaks, sometimes we simply shut down, or we think about what we want to say while the other person is speaking. Listening is hard work which takes both self-discipline and care for the other person. Sometimes it helps to re-phrase what the other person has said and ask him or her if you have correctly understood the point they were trying to make. “I think I heard you say…” The mere act of repeating the other person’s thought and speaking it from your own lips has a way of helping the brain and heart digest what that person was saying.

In a Christian community, true listening is a sign of respect for your Christian brothers and sisters. Listening promotes harmony and is a step toward peaceful resolution of differences.

Prayer:

God grant me listening ears and an open heart. Amen