listen carefully
remain open
These are the opening lines of the Rule of Benedict: “Listen carefully, my child, to my instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from one who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice.” It continues, “The labor of obedience will bring you back to God from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience.”
Here’s a quick sketch of Benedict himself. Born in 480 to a nobleman in Nursia, he went to Rome as a student. Dismayed by the debauchery of the city, he soon left and joined a small community in the countryside, a community of men who were committed to a spiritual path.
In time, they parted ways, and Benedict established a monastery at Monte Cassino. In his Rule, he outlines his vision for monasteries, and more importantly for us today, his vision for a Christ-centered life. That can apply to anybody, whether or not they live in a monastery.
The Rule of Benedict has 73 chapters, plus the prologue. Still, the focus at hand is how the Rule begins: “Listen carefully.” In Jeremiah 37, the idea of listening (or the lack thereof) is a key concern.
Actually, listening is a theme that appears again and again throughout the entire book of Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah tries, with little success, to convince the people — including the leadership — that in many different ways, they’re going down the wrong path. But they don’t listen to him. And because the book of Jeremiah gives a look at his inner struggle (which is unusual in the Bible), we see that sometimes the prophet feels that not even God is listening!
In the scripture text, Walter Brueggemann applies this idea of listening to King Zedekiah. The king sends delegates to Jeremiah, requesting prayer. Of course, Zedekiah has disregarded what the prophet has been trying to tell him about a number of things. One of the main things on the list is that fighting the Babylonian Empire is useless.
Brueggemann says, “The central issue is that the king did not ‘listen.’” (354) He includes the Hebrew word for “listen” or “hear” (שָׁמַע, shema`). In Deuteronomy 6, that’s how the well-known statement of faith begins: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (And it goes on.) That passage is called “the Shema.”
Our friend Walter adds, “No one listened — not the king, not his royal entourage, not the city nor its citizens… Zedekiah’s refusal to listen is a decision to ignore the tradition, to reject the prophet, to scuttle a theological identity, and to disregard a transcendent purpose in power politics.” (354–5)
That stuff about ignoring a “theological identity” and “transcendent purpose” means pretending that we alone are the makers of our destiny. More than that, it means closing our eyes to the vision available by standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.
Again, Brueggemann, “In his refusal to listen…the king has sealed his own fate and that of his people. His future depends not upon his ingenuity nor his power, but upon his readiness to accept the theological reality of his life and his rule, that is, the reality of Yahweh’s rule.” (355)
Later in the chapter, when the Babylonians turn their attention to fighting the Egyptians, Jerusalem has a temporary lull in the action. It enjoys a respite, a welcome reprieve. Jeremiah decides to check out land he has purchased. He has exercised the right of redemption, so that the property won’t pass out of the hands of the family.
He’s also putting his money where his mouth is; he’s saying that after the Babylonians have done their worst, the economy will recover. To his people he says, “Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land” (32:15). He’s giving them a reason to listen to him.
Unfortunately, when a sentinel named Irijah sees him trying to leave the city, he accuses the prophet of treason, of defecting to the enemy. Jeremiah tries to explain that a traitor is the last thing he is. He tries to explain his reasons for this little trip. So, does Irijah “listen” to him?
Here’s a clue: Jeremiah is arrested, beaten, and imprisoned under horrible conditions.
Refusing to listen isn’t the sole domain of foolish kings and corrupt sentinels. Can we think of ways in which we imitate them by ignoring “theological reality”? That is, how do we delude ourselves in ignoring God’s very real presence? How do we ignore the parousia (“presence” or “arrival”) of Jesus Christ? Do we long for his arrival in our lives?
Here’s a different approach, paraphrasing Benedict. What does it mean to listen with the ear of the heart? The ear of our heart is the most vital thing about us. If we never listen to it, then our entire life becomes tone deaf.
When our lives are tone deaf, we don’t listen. Like King Zedekiah, we don’t listen to the word of God. Because we don’t listen to God, we don’t listen to each other. And with all of that “not listening,” one day we arrive at the point in which we cannot listen. We simply lose the ability.
God is on the move: among us, in our communities, in the world. By not listening to the word of God, by not dreaming new beginnings, we make ourselves slaves to a past gone by; we hamstring our future with limited possibilities.
Quite literally, the universe is expanding; God’s reign is expanding. God’s economy is based on the expansion of love, grace, and mercy. Let us learn to listen carefully. We can enhance the presence of Christ within and among us.
If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear!
