Ears to Hear
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“He
who has ears to hear, let him hear!” What an odd thing to say. After all,
most people have ears, and most people who have ears are able to hear. But
“ears to hear” aren’t made of cartilage and skin. “Ears to hear” only hear when they have been stopped to the
babbling of the world. In the Kingdom
of God, only the deaf can
hear. In the Kingdom
of God, only the blind
can see. In the Kingdom
of God, only the fool
will believe.
God hides Himself in
parables. Simple words conceal God’s message from men too proud to see that He
doesn’t work the way they work. But that is precisely the point: God is not
like us. This is baffling to the worldly wise. He sows His seed in foolish, impossible
places, with no thought of gain or loss, only conscious that the seed is good
and men are in need. He sows on the trodden path, the rocky patch, the thorny
ground, into the deaf ear, the blind eye, and the hard heart. He sows where no
drunken farmer in his darkest hour ever sowed.
Most
is lost. Most is trampled, snatched, withered, or choked. Most is wasted. This
Sower is more inefficient than the government! But still the Sower sows. It’s
His seed to sow as He sees fit. He never counts the cost. He does not sow for
profit. He does not sow for fame, honor, or prestige. He sows because men are in
need. He sows because He is love. He sows in ways that men think foolish, for
He provides, gives, and loves for free.
The
seed finds the earth—miserable, scorched, dry, rocky ground though it be. Miraculously
some grows! Some transforms that trodden, rocky, thorny place into soil rich
enough to bear a crop a hundredfold! It grew to life in dark corners where men
had given up and moved on. It bestowed wisdom in the midst of foolishness. Always
it bears a crop—just not where men think it ought. For this Kingdom is not
ruled in the ways of men. It is a Kingdom of grace, bestowed without thought to
cost or fear of failure, motivated by perfect love. The Seed, the Holy Word of
God, our Lord Jesus Christ, never returns to the Father void. He completes the
good work that He was sent to do: He saves the world. He forgives sins. He
loves men. He sows. And what He sows is the power of God for salvation. And
though it seems wasted, what He sows changes lives. He never leaves things just
as He found them. It is the Word, the creative force of God Himself.
This
same Word called forth a Messiah into Mary’s womb through her ear. This same
Word called forth a water of renewal and regeneration in John’s timid washing
of the Christ. All who are joined to Him in those burial waters are His sons in
whom He is well-pleased. Their sins wash off of them and onto Him, and He
raises them up again to life. This same Word calls forth His true body and blood
out of ordinary bread and wine. His people eat and drink and proclaim His death
until He comes again. This same Word calls forth a holy nation from sinful
people. You worship one Lord, and you know that, whatever the future brings,
this is not your home.
You
are the hundredfold harvest of grace. He transformed you by His Word, watered
you with His Blood, sheltered you in His love so that you grow and live. By the
power of His unfailing Word, you are His own, His beloved, His precious,
spotless Bride. He has placed His Word into you. And by that Word you live.
Soon He will return to bring the harvest home, to complete what He has begun in
you. “He who has ears to hear, let him
hear.” In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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