Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Listen And Learn

A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.
But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.

She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.  Matthew 15:22-28

When I was a teenager, an early mentor of mine told me to always listen because you never when you might learn something.  It was also a necessity because my mother would have conference calls talking with colleagues from home, and I had to literally sit at times for almost an hour before I could actually speak to her.  I guess that’s where I got my sense of patience as well, and as strange as it seems, those two things would be invaluable attributes that help me to connect to people.  Why?  People want two things no matter if it is with a stranger or their spouse of over fifty years.  They want to be heard, and they want to feel valued.  To take time out to listen to someone serves that purpose because there is no more precious commodity than . . . time.  When we speak about solving problems, we cannot start unless we truly understand the issue.  What is wrong?  Why do you feel that way?  How can I help?  These are questions that we as Christians should be asking all of the time.  However when speaking to Millennials, it often feels like . . . well preaching.  When I have a conversation with my twelve year old daughter, I tend to preach first and ask second, and I need to get better at listening.   When we talk about the church being in a crisis with Millennials, we talk from a place of what we know, which is what our parents and our experiences taught us.  That’s not all bad.  However, we can’t solve this crisis preaching the Gospel first.  We can by sharing it, but we can’t share without first listening.

Jesus teaches us to listen and understand before acting.  The story of Gentile woman with great faith showed Jesus’ ability to turn listening into a teachable moment.  Here was a woman pleading with Jesus to heal her possessed daughter.  I read as the disciples urged Him to send her away, and how Jesus said nothing for a while.  Then, He said, “I was sent ONLY to help God’s lost sheep – the people of Israel.”  One might ask, “Why would Jesus exclude her just because she was not a Jew?”  This is part of the teaching because His audience was not just the Gentile woman.  It was His disciples.  When Jesus seemingly ends the discussion saying, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs,” we are almost left speechless.  This feels like our response to those who have chosen not to believe, right?  Why would we take time away from those who share our belief and spend it on you, the non-believer?  Then her response, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table,” is the most amazing and dare I say ‘perfect’ response.  What could Jesus say?  He did not dismiss her saying, “I’m the Son of God, I do not need to hear this.”  She had acknowledged Jesus as Lord, ‘master,’ and her authority figure.  He listened, and acknowledged her faith.    If we acknowledge Jesus as God, He is all knowing, and thus, He knew the response was coming from the woman.  He wants us to see that all can come to Him no matter where they came from!  It was that teachable moment for the disciples that God is God to all who would acknowledge Him as Lord of their lives, but we cannot acknowledge others without first doing as Jesus did and listen.


Spreading the Good News of Jesus requires us to understand where people are first.  Our mission then becomes to share how God can help them where they are and not condemn them for where they are.  If we are to help those who choose not to believe, our response must be to first listen and hear their pain, frustrations, and concerns of where God fits in their life.  Only then can we truly share the Good News.  Do you know someone who has rejected the Gospel?  Have you taken time out to understand why?  My prayer and challenge is that we are willing to do what we Jesus knew all along; listen and learn.  Amen.

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