“The Lenten journey calls us to examine the things in which our hearts are invested, recognizing that we often insert our voices into the silence of God. Lent invites us to listen to God’s wisdom for us and truly see who Jesus is, not just who we have created him to be.”
March 16, 2025
Again & Again: A Lenten Refrain
“We Are Called to Listen”
Mark 8: 31-9: 8
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
Mark 8: 31-9: 8
Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Human One must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and the legal experts, and be killed, and then, after three days, rise from the dead.” He said this plainly. But Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him. Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, then sternly corrected Peter: “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.”
After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them. Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Human One will be ashamed of that person when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Jesus continued, “I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see God’s kingdom arrive in power.”
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone. He was transformed in front of them, and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white. Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus. Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s make three shrines—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He said this because he didn’t know how to respond, for the three of them were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I dearly love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
We Are Called to Listen Mark 8: 31-9: 8
Listening…why is this such a hard concept for us as humans? Yes, I know we are chuckling at this question. Because we can all think of times when someone did not listen to us. We can all think of times when we really wanted to smugly sit back and say, “Well, if you had only listened to me, such and such would not have happened.” AND if we are really being honest with ourselves, we can also think of times when we did not listen to others as well. We can remember the hurt, the disappointment, the frustration, our actions or should I say, lack of action, our lack of listening caused in this relationship.
Sure, we have devices to help us hear…hearing aids, Bluetooth speakers, volume control but do they help us listen…listen to the world around us, listen to the people of our community. Sure, these devices help us to hear but do they help us engage in active listening which cultivates better understanding, more connection and deeper community.
Which brings me back to my original question…why is listening such a hard concept for us as humans?
Maybe it’s because more often than not, when we are talking to someone, we already have our responses ready to go if and when that person would ever stop talking. Maybe it’s because more often than not in our conversations, we are so focused on how we are going to respond, on what we are going to say, that we miss what the other person is actually saying. Maybe if we are truly being honest with ourselves, more often than not, we miss out on the moment to engage in true authentic conversation because we do not listen. We don’t listen with ears ready to receive. We don’t listen with hearts ready to connect. We don’t listen with our whole being ready to engage the other person as a beloved child of God. Maybe it’s because we assume the whole point of conversations is to fix or correct the situation rather than creating deeper relationships, to create better understanding, and to cultivate community. As humans, as people of God, as a community of faith, more often than not, we don’t listen. We don’t listen to the stories, to the people, to hurt, to the feelings which surround us. And I get it…too often there is so much noise in our lives, in our world, that it is just easier to shut it out, to shut down, to close off and give the other person our 3 second sound bites. Or we can also admit that it can get so loud and abrasive that we simply cannot listen. It hurts too much. It scares us too much. It worries us too much. Everything competes for our attention, and we do not know what to focus on so we keep our heads down. We ready our responses. AND in doing so, we don’t engage one another in community. We don’t create connections with one another. We don’t cultivate a better understanding of one another.
All because we do not listen…I share all this not because I have any easy fixes. I simply share all this because this call to listen to each other is the background for our text today. I want to draw our attention to a few verses…Mark tells us that Jesus is on the mountaintop with Peter, James and John. The three disciples have just seen Jesus transfigure. They have just seen him transformed in front of them. And Mark tells us that Peter tries to quickly fill the gap conversationally because…listen to this…He didn’t know how to respond.
To give Peter grace, I’m not sure I would either. I mean…Jesus shining with white light. Moses and Elijah standing there, two of the most respected prophets in Israel’s history, and they are all three talking with one another. It would blow one’s mind. I’m sure jaws dropped, eyes were wide open, minds were frantically trying to figure out logically what is happening…And like so many of us when we encounter uncomfortable situations, we try to fill the silence by inserting our voices. Which is exactly what Peter did. He starts talking because he did not know how to respond.
Mark tells us that once again, Peter gets it all wrong. All because he did not understand what was happening at that moment. All because he was uncomfortable with the silence. All because he did not have a better understanding of who Jesus was. And well, no one did really. Because up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, people have said a lot of stuff about who Jesus is. They have raised a lot of questions about Jesus, but no one understands him. No one really understands his ministry or mission. And no one really would until that moment on the cross.
For now, what Mark is cautioning his readers as followers of Jesus Christ, is to not create a false identity of who Jesus is, to not limit what Jesus came to do and be. For now, Mark is telling us to not fill the gap, to not insert our voices into the silence of God. Rather, for now, Mark is inviting us to listen. To actively engage in this moment with open hearts, open minds, with open beings ready to receive God’s wisdom and word for us. To listen to all that Jesus has to say in his preaching and teaching, to listen to who Jesus says he is so that we have a better understanding of how the Beloved Community of God is at work in our world.
The voice from heaven tells the disciples. “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.” Not put words in Jesus’ mouth. Not adapt or distort what Jesus has to say to them. Not ignore the wisdom he shares. The voice tells the disciples back then and tells us that the way to respond as Jesus’ followers is to LISTEN…to pause, to breath, to still ourselves, to embrace the silence and listen for God’s wisdom and word for us as the people of God. Because when we do that…when we listen to Jesus, when we listen to Jesus’ word for us, when we listen to God’s wisdom for us, we truly see who Jesus, not just who we have created him to be. When we listen to God’s word and wisdom for us, we discover again and again that God is there for us, leading us and guiding us. We discover that again and again, we have nothing to fear because our God holds us in the palm of God’s hand. When we actively engage and listen to and for God’s wisdom and word for us as people of faith, we discover again and again, our God loves us more than we will ever know, we discover again and again, the promises of God, we discover again and again, that love and light will always overcome. May it be so. Amen.
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, March 16, 2025 – We Are Called to Listen Mark 8: 31-9: 8.
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