Sunday News 29 June 2025

Hearing is doing

When is not a good time to hear from Jesus?

When we are not ready to listen. That is how it seems from Jesus’ own account of some places he visited in his earthly ministry.

‘Then he began to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:

Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.’ (Matthew 11:20-24)

In several places in the Gospels Jesus speaks about whether, and how we hear the word of God. Luke records this interesting statement by Jesus:

‘Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.’ (Luke 8:18)

The above statement comes after the parable of the sower and the seed, and the explanation of the parable given by Jesus to his disciples at their request. I am not going to delve into the parable here, except to say it is good to read it, and that the fate of the seed which lands in various situations was explained by Jesus to mean the differing responses and fruitfulness of people hearing the word of God.

In the Gospel of Mark, the verses which match Luke 8:18 say this:

‘Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.’ (Mark 4:24-25)

My own amateur melding of Luke and Mark on this point brings me to something like, ‘Make sure you hear in the right way – because if you don’t, you will hear less in future.’

This is where my topic for this week leads on from past weeks’ thoughts on light and darkness, and how to receive light, and what can get in the way. We have shifted a bit from the eyes to the ears, from seeing to hearing. But the principle is this: when we receive understanding of something, we must adjust our thinking and behave in a way which reflects the truth shown to us. Otherwise our ability to see and to hear, withers. Our eyes and ears become blocked and dimmed and our ability to receive truth is lessened.

I believe this is quite an important point, because truth, as ‘light’ or the ‘word’, can be difficult and costly to come to terms with. The temptation to ignore it, fudge it, or avoid it can be great. Even the secular world will tell you, ‘the truth hurts’. That is not always the case – but it can.

‘Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.’ (Proverbs 23:23)

How then should we hear, so that we continue to hear more? So that ‘more is given’?

(If you want to hear more that is – knowing it is costly. But personally, I do. I want to ‘buy the truth’ and not sell it.)

Jesus said,

‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man. which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.’ (Matthew 7:24-27)

One thing I notice about the above scripture, and I think I have seen it in my own experience too: the one whose house fell was not ignorant of Jesus’ words. He heard the sayings, but did not do them.

It seems to me that with God there is not the same separation of hearing and doing that can characterize our own nature.

‘thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he shall answer thee.’ (Isaiah 30:19)

But surely, God hears everything whether he agrees with it or not?

Yet David in the Psalms pleads with God to hear him. As if God is unable to hear at any time?

‘Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.’ (Psalm 5:2)

But with God, to hear means to act. If God does not answer, then he ‘has not heard’. Likewise, for us to hear God means to obey.

To fail to obey what we have heard from God, or to live as if it were not true, is to be as if we were deaf. And if we act as if we were deaf, the warning of Jesus is that we may become deaf with regards to his word.

In the case of God himself, this never happens. If God hears anything which has merit, or which in his mercy he chooses to hear, he acts upon it completely and absolutely at the time he should act. God never fails to respond to anything which deserves a response (and I believe he responds to us in endless ways beyond what he ‘should’ and beyond anything we deserve).

So for God, hearing is doing. And so should it be for us too.

Jesus describes the processes of hearing, and failing to hear, in other ways too.

‘Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.’ (John 8:43)

This fascinates me. Jesus seems to be saying that the refusal of people to accept his message made them unable to even understand what he was saying.

Furthermore, the ability given by God to us to discern the truth, and to know that he is speaking, also seems affected by our willingness to receive and act upon that truth.

‘Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.’ (John 7:16-17)

‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear’ is an often repeated saying of Jesus in the Gospels. Those ‘ears to hear’ it would seem are not only a one-time gift from God, but require maintenance. It is our willingness to receive and to put into action what God is telling us that sharpens our hearing to hear more, and to hear clearly.

When the wind and the waves threatened to sink the boat which carried Jesus and his disciples, and they were afraid (but not he), Jesus ‘arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.’ (Mark 4:39)

Let us not refuse him whom the storm obeys.

Let us hear willingly, and do. For Jesus’ words are not to hurt us.

‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’ (John 6:63)

Amen.