Mindful Availability

January 4, 2004 (Second Sunday after Christmas)

  by The Rev. Linda Yeager, Deacon

- Jeremiah 31:7-14
- Psalm 84:1-8
- Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a
- Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

(From The Lectionary Page)

Listening is an art, they say. Truly listening takes focus, concentration, and, perhaps most of all, availability. “I hear you,” we say when someone relates an incident to us. “I hear you.” Maybe. But hearing and listening are two different experiences. In these days of multi-tasking, we find ourselves answering email as we pursue a phone conversation or making a mental grocery list as a friend tells us his problems. We just don’t have the time to be a good listener.

The passages of scripture appointed for today have much to do with listening.  From Jeremiah: “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away . . .” Jeremiah urges the people to have faith in the loving care of God, to have hope that a renewed community would be radiant over the bounty of the Lord, and would never languish again. Jeremiah listened and heard the word of the Lord and never abandoned trust in the Lord that all would be well.

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians acknowledges his confidence in the people of Ephesus: “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus . . .,” he says, “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you . . . “

And then there’s Joseph, who may head the list of good listeners in history.  We know that when Mary told Joseph that she was expecting a child, he listened to the angel who came to him in a dream and did not reject Mary or God’s child whom she would bear. Joseph, in response to what he had heard, took his pregnant wife to Bethlehem for the census. While there, she gave birth to Jesus.  After the visit of the magi from the East, Joseph was visited again by an angel in a dream and warned to flee to Egypt for Herod wanted to destroy the infant Jesus.

Once again, paying heed to what he had heard, Joseph obeyed the warning and took his young family to Egypt. After Herod’s death, still another angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take his family back to Israel.  Again, Joseph listened to the angel and returned to their homeland, deciding, however, that danger was still apparent in Judea—and being warned once again by an angel—he took his family north to Galilee, to the city of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up.

Don’t you find this story to have some amazing aspects? First, that Joseph was willing and open to listen to the voice of God, given his situation and the uniqueness of it. Second, that Joseph was willing to obey the voice of God to the extent that he did.

I am reminded of the story of the man who was standing on the edge of the cliff and fell off, saving himself by only his fingertips. As he hung there, he yelled for help. “Is anybody up there?” he cried. Finally a voice said, “This is God. Let go and I will save you.” After a brief silence, the man cried, “Is there anybody else up there?” Listening to God, letting go and trusting God can be a fearful prospect.

But Joseph trusted that voice of God that he heard. One can argue that God chose Joseph to be the earthly father of Jesus because he was such a godly man.  But, putting Joseph in a real, everyday existence, I still find it extraordinary that he was such a good listener, that he was so obedient and trusting.

Four times an angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream. First, telling him not to reject Mary; second, telling him to flee to Egypt; third, telling him to return to Israel; fourth, telling him that Judea was not safe. Whether Joseph ever heard from an angel of the Lord again, we do not know. In fact, we know little else of Joseph, other than he was a carpenter and that he was with Mary and Jesus when Jesus was twelve and visited Jerusalem. He is not mentioned during Jesus’ ministry nor at Jesus’ crucifixion. Perhaps he died when Jesus was still a young man.

Joseph listened to the word of God, and he obeyed. What is there in his life and actions that are pertinent for us today? What can we take from this faithful father of 2,000 years ago and hold close to us in our own lives?

Paul’s prayer in the letter to the Ephesians is for wisdom and revelation as one gets to know God. Wisdom and revelation as one gets to know God. As we get to know God, we inherit the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Joseph was surely a man of intellect and prayer. He, a good Jew, certainly studied scripture and prayed diligently. And he heard the word of God; he gained wisdom and revelation.

Getting to know God means being available to God and using that availability as a discipline, as a form of spiritual practice, like meditation, prayer or scripture reading. And what happens if I practice availability with my whole heart, being open to God’s word through scripture, through prayer, through my relationships with others, and through my life experiences?

In scripture, Martha approached Jesus, complaining about Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet while she—Martha—kept busy in the kitchen. Mary had chosen mindful availability, an attention of the heart. When we practice mindful availability, we too are open to hear God’s word as it is spoken in our lives. So, what does our life look like when we are truly available?

I think that it begins with the gentle measures, like opening our hearts and minds to God’s word through silence, through an emptying of ourselves, through the nurturing of a quiet spirit. It continues with careful reading of scripture, taking time to reflect and respond to what we read. It proceeds as we employ this availability with others, with a spirit of hospitality that receives people as they are, without seeking to cure, fix or repair them. It involves listening and hearing what others are saying and opening our hearts to them.  It means that we hear with the ears of compassion and forgiveness and that we respond with careful conversation.

A mindful availability is useful in those troubling times of our lives, too, when we suffer, or are confused, or feel used or abused. For God speaks to us through all our experiences. I believe that God is in the middle of every situation in our lives and it is up to us to find God there. Finding meaning in the sorrows of our lives begins with mindful availability.

When we do open our hearts and minds to listen as God speaks through prayer, through scripture, through the voices of people we encounter, and through our life experiences, we find ourselves responding in faith and love, aware of the hope to which God has called us and with the strength that we find when we allow ourselves to rest in God’s love.

As we embark on this new year and on all that our futures hold, we can find wisdom and revelation if we listen with mindful availability, with peaceful hearts as God speaks to us through all phases of our lives. We, like Joseph, can know God’s will for us. We can, with God’s help, if we will listen.