Listen to Me Today; Hear Me Tomorrow

Jesus used a phrase often in his teaching, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  We find it once in Matthew (11:15), twice in Mark (4:9, 23), and twice in Luke (8:8, 14:25).  In most of the references the phrase “to hear” is lacking, though most English translations include it.  The effect of Jesus’ words is rendered straightforwardly and accurately by N.T. Wright in his translation The Kingdom New Testament: “If you have ears, then listen” (Mark 4:23).  Ears are for listening.

But doesn’t it often seem like ears adorn our heads like oddly shaped, symmetrically arranged decorations rather than functional parts?  We busy ourselves with speaking and daydreaming that our ears grow unaccustomed to use in their principle purpose: hearing.

But there’s another level to this.  As a pastor I observe that people may “listen” but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have really heard.  Hearing implies comprehension or knowing, such as we mean by the phrase, “I hear you.”  My high school Bible teacher often quipped “Listen to me today; hear me tomorrow.”  He meant that we might listen to his words at the time, but may not understand them until later.  So it is with Jesus’ teaching: it takes a lifetime of reading, listening, reflecting, discussing, and following his words for us to gradually grasp their truth, receive their life, and feel their power – for us to truly hear.

Too often we listen but don’t hear.  Hearing presupposes listening, but also adds attention and reflection leading to action.  If you have ears, use them.  Listen, but also hear.  This is what the scriptures commonly call “meditation.”  The first psalm speaks of the marks of the godly person: “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (v 2).  When the Lord commissions Joshua as the new leader of Israel he tells him: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night” (Josh. 1:8).  We move from listening to hearing, from knowing to doing, through meditating on God’s word.

The mechanics of meditation are myriad, but the scriptures referenced above provide a helpful framework by calling for meditation “day and night.”  Morning and evening prayer (which includes reading and reflecting on scripture) frames the day in listening to God’s word and provides the opportunity to hear and do it between those times of prayer.  The practice of morning and evening prayer reminds us that all time, all of our moments and days, belong to God.  Throughout the day we meditate on God’s word, discerning ways to live into its truth.  And we are guided into the night with comfort and hope in God’s steady, eternal word.

And the promise to the one who hears, who meditates on God’s word is this: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Ps. 1:3).