Olive Crest United Methodist Church
7180 North 60th Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68152

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Rev. Debra Tompsett-Welch

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Hearts

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The Spiritual Life

October 1998

Listening, or Practice in the Spiritual Art of Discernment

By Rev. Michael Lee Burgess

When God talks to me, I often don't realize it until later. In fact, one of my life goals is to learn to hear at the same time God is talking, there always seems to be a time delay. As I reflected on God this last month, the insights seem to be about listening, and who am I willing to listen to. Let me share this struggle with you. Maybe it will help you in your listening, I know reflecting on it will help me. I know the classic methods of developing relationship with God; prayer, Bible study, worship and thanksgiving, but what of the spiritual art of discernment, listening to and for God, and why is it so hard? I found a nudge when I went to see a movie.

In the movie Simon Birch, Simon is the smallest baby ever born in their local hospital. He could fit in the doctors hand, and he just doesn't get lots bigger. He knows it is a miracle that he is alive at all and feels that God has a plan for his life, in fact he is going to be a hero. That could have been just be a coping response to deal with the fact of his size. Then I watched three scenes that changed my mind.

The first happens when he is in church and the pastor starts to talk about their church calendar and Simon objects, "What does that have to do with God?" He has recognized that his church is missing the heart of loving/faithful relationship that empowers the ordinary and fills it with divinity. Now there is a correct answer to Simon, and I so much wanted to give it to him, "Community is at the heart of family and being the body of Christ happens in relationship". But activities, just to be busy, without that family heart, don't have much to do with God. It is a good question. But he is not heard.

The next time, is when he gets into an argument with the pastor and they start quoting bible verses at each other. Now that is a way of using the Bible that always frustrates me. It seems to miss the Living Word all together, but it did show me something very important. Simon had studied. He was preparing to act, to be that hero, he was listening for God with his mind. If he is listening for God in a way I know and recognize, is he doing it in any other way?

That made me think back to something that had happened earlier in the film, the third thing. He and his best friend had gone swimming, more than once, and each time Simon would practice holding his breath. He friend said, "Nobody cares how long you can hold your breath, why is it important?" Simon said, "I don't know why, it just is." He was listening to something inside and suddenly I was watching intently for what holding his breath would have to do with being a hero. I also started to ask myself, "Do I listen inside?" And also, "Who do I listen to outside?" The people of his church and town were not listening to Simon, but he was speaking truth. They needed to hear that their faith and relationships were shallow, they were not cherishing each other. Many were lonely and lost. Yes, many of the things the writer had Simon say were just for laughs or to shock, but underneath, he was speaking truth and they didn't want to hear it because of who he was. If we condemn a message because of the messenger, we will miss truth. God often uses flawed people to speak truth. Who am I not listening too because they annoy me? I see that I am having trouble hearing some others. I can work on that. But what about this part of listening inside? This seems even harder, it is not mind/logical. This is listening with your heart and it is hard work. I don't like how much trouble I am having doing it.

I was starting to feel pretty bad about my lack of progress in learning to listen (by 40 I was going to have this part down) when I read one of the hundreds of forwarded messages that pile up on my computer (it is the one later in the newsletter). It was a story, reputed to be true, about a little boy and his encounter with the birdies (the angels and the light that many people in near death encounters find God in). After reading it, I was reminded that I have help all around me in this quest to grow. Learning to listen within is not a thing to be forced by will, but something to let happen with time and attention. God understands just how long it takes me to grow. I am loved in the middle of struggle and most importantly, I am not alone. If I am not all I had hoped to be, I am enough for God love and there is still time to work on becoming more. And there is time for you as well. In the family of God we are to help each other, and anything we do to build each other up, to prepare each other for the hard times, builds up the body of Christ. That is great work indeed. So a covered dish supper, a 50th Wedding Anniversary, or choir practice can be sacred work and about God, if we do it in love. Come and love with me in the Worship of God this Sunday. I need you help and you mine. Together we will become more and learn to listen with heart and hand.

Your brother-in-Christ, Reverend Michael Lee Burgess

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