Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Listening and falling in love

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

From John 13
Peter said to Jesus, "Master, I will lay down my life for you." And Jesus answered him, "No. I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times."

We couldn't find them, and then there they were. We climbed the stairs and crept near the door. No one stopped us, and we sat down on the rough wood stairs and just listened.

I remember long sweaty summer lessons when I was just a kid. Our rabbi read us scripture and then we read to him, over and over we read to him. Stories from the exodus, stories of building the temple, memorizing the gorgeous words of Isaiah the prophet. "The Lord called me from birth. He made of me a sharp-edged sword. He made me a polished arrow."

Surely not me, Lord. These words are meant for the messiah, not for any of us. But Jesus talks as if those words are all about him.

Someone from inside crashes up against the door, stumbling as he runs out and down the stairs. "Do what you must do," Jesus says. Does he sound resigned to this? One of his best friends in the group is arguing with him. Jesus' words don't even make sense; he is predicting his friend's faithlessness.

I think we need to listen a little harder. What is going on here?

Erich Fromm has some basic rules for listening, which he calls "an art like the understanding of poetry." Don't Jesus' words often sound like poetry?

1. I must practice this art with complete concentration.
2. There is no room in my mind for anxiety or greed.
3. My imagination needs to be freely working but sufficiently concrete to be expressed in words.
4. My capacity for empathy must allow me to feel the experience of the other as if it is my own.
5. This empathy helps me love and understand the one I'm listening to. Understanding and loving are inseparable.

Jesus talks with his friends again. "As Abba loved me, so I've loved you. Now remain in my love. Make yourselves at home in my love."

These relationships draw me in. Jesus and these men and women who accompany him everywhere make poetry together. We listen from outside, but I want to be with them in their room, reclining at their table, learning the nature of love and sacrifice. All those words I learned with the rabbi start to come to life in this moment with Jesus.

Jesus, you are made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and your God is now my strength. You are a light to the nations, and your salvation stretches out to reach the ends of the earth. You know us all so well, as far as the east is from the west. And you love us all so well. You listen to my heart and I am free always to be the me you made.

Devotions Archive

Listening and falling in love

Tuesday, April 11, 2017