Are We Listening? (Sermon notes for October 17, 2021)

Scripture reference: Isaiah 1:3 – The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.

Why do we not do well at listening?

A squirrel call by a hunter in the woods brings an attentive, listening squirrel.

Misty, the well-trained bird dog, hears her master’s whistle, and responds to commands to go left, right, retrieve.

The Darlington dairy herd hears the creaking of the old barn door rolling back and knows that it’s time to come and be milked.

Do we listen as well as the creatures?

We are distracted by noise, people, cell phones, thoughts; our answer is running through our head already while somebody is talking. We like to talk first and most to get our point across.

What is happening physically? We can listen two to three times faster than somebody can speak.

Our brain is very busy, constantly processing and arranging information into categories. It does not stop working. The brains is 2% of our body mass but uses 20% of the body’s energy. Yes, you are tired after filling out your tax form, writing an essay, or teaching students of any age.

However, the brain does have a long-distance-marathon mode. If the preacher, professor, spouse, person of any type is going on and on, the brain stops the acute, careful listening, which takes the most energy, and puts forth the responses familiar with that person or situation.

My students always say “yes” or “yes, sir, we understand.” Then they go out and build it backwards or come to me and say, “what did you say?” They have been conditioned by years of teaching, lecturing, etc. I do not blame them; I just try to find ways to make it exciting or stimulating.

We put people into categories: political, ethnic, class, group, income, whatever, and expect to know all about them. Our brain creates concepts about various groups.

When we first meet someone, our brain is fully engaged and acutely listening. This gives us good feelings physically, just like we get from exercise. As that person becomes more and more familiar we tend to know what they are going to say and predict what’s happening by the way they are communicating at that moment. That is the brain’s physical response.

So, we have to work at listening. Our prayer to God should be as St. Francis: “O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek … to be understood, as to understand….”

The same goes for our life in Christ, the church, and the fellowship associated with it.