December 23, 2018 Come to Jesus - Bring Your Listening Ears

December 23 2018 Come to Jesus – Bring Your Listening Ears Luke 1.39-45 Pastor Jacqueline Hines

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Our scripture lesson this morning captures Mary, the mother of Jesus, on her way to visit her cousin, Elizabeth who was six months pregnant. Verse 39 says she was in a hurry. As good bible students you know that when we look at the verses that come before the ones we are focusing on, we often find important insights and information. It just so happens that the verses just before Mary’s visit to Elizabeth help us to see the reason Mary was in such a hurry.  She had just had a conversation with a heavenly angel. Gabriel visited Mary and told her she was going to have a baby. [slide # 1 Mary and the angel Gabriel with wings]

Mary was what the Greek transliteration calls “diatarasso” disturbed, troubled, perplexed. She had to be wondering if the angel visit was a good thing or was it a bad thing. [slide # 2 Mary and Gabriel in white light] Was Gabriel a figment of her youthful imagination, a sign that she was losing her mind or was he really bringing a message from God? Was it a time to be proud and celebrate or a time to be humble and keep the matter to herself? 

As all of this was going through her mind, Gabriel said these words to her ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. Because she was listening, because she had her listening ears on, she heard the words of the angel Gabriel and the Luke says she made haste to see Elizabeth, also a woman of God, and also preparing to have a baby, whom we would later know as Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist.

There is a lot to hear in these few verses of scripture.  We can hear Mary’s footsteps as she walks quickly to see Elizabeth. Perhaps she is a bit breathless; after all she has just had a divine encounter with the angel Gabriel. She’s excited and barely understands what is happening to her.

Mary finally arrives at Elizabeth’s door, she quickly greets Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah with the traditional peck on both cheeks and moves excitedly to Elizabeth, hugging her and jumping for joy. Verse 41 tells us that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, [slide # 3 heard Mary’s greeting] the child leaped in her womb. Even babies in the womb have listening ears. [slide # 4 stethoscope and pregnant woman]

Not only did the baby leap, but the scripture say that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the evidence of Acts 2 remind us that when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you say things that you normally do not say, you sing songs that you normally would not sing, you do things that that are supernatural. You witness extraordinary events. Some may even call them miracles. Spectacular things may happen, if only for a very brief moment, like a flash of lightening, a sudden breeze, or a strong wind. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you speak awesome words, complimentary, kind and prophetic words that predict God’s wonderful purpose and plan. God’s word whether loud or soft is like a trumpet blast that is blown before royalty enters the room. [slide # 5 trumpeteers]

Being filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth made a joyful noise. [slide # 6 ….a loud cry] Verse 42 says she exclaimed with a loud cry, [slide # 7 Elizabeth shouting for joy with Mary] “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Then Elizabeth asked why Mary had come to visit, saying in verse 43, And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? She is prophesying in the spirit, calling Jesus Lord already. And in verse 44 she is giving a testimony saying  44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.   [slide # 8 Mary at Elizabeth’s lap]

When we come to Jesus with our listening ears on we will hear sounds for which God has a particular purpose. Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry says verse 42. The loud cry in the Greek is the word “ruwa”. It refers to a shout, a raised sound, a crying out, a blast. [slide # 9 RUWA]

The purposes of a noise in the bible can be to shout a war-cry or alarm of battle, to sound a signal for war or march, to shout in triumph (over enemies) to shout in applause, to shout (with religious impulse), to cry out in distress, to shout for joy, shout because something stings, or has been destroyed. Every sound has a clear purpose. When we come to Jesus with our listening ears on, we are more apt to hear more and to discover more of God’s purpose.

We are a praying people and our ears are always perked [slide # 10 ears perked. We will always hear the sounds that God has for us. We listen for a baby’s first cry to signal the lungs are clear. We listen for our name to be called in a waiting room, an alarm to sound, a timer to go off, a school bell to ring, a pet’s footsteps coming or going, guns saluting to honor a soldier, train whistles blowing. Sounds have purpose.

More importantly are the sounds we do not hear with our physical ears. Some sounds can only be heard with our spiritual ears as we pray and meditate corporately or individually. [slide # 11 persons gathered in listening prayer]  As we listen we hear the glad chatter of dreams coming true before they do, the smack of kisses and handshakes to be shared in in anticipation of reconciliation, the thump of dancing feet rejoicing after a season of sorrow, hearts and minds digging deeper into the riches of God’s goodness, the swish of those falling more in love with God,  the pounding of ideas building and buttressing beginnings of a new day of justice and mercy dawning, the flutter of angels wings coming to carry a loved one home, or the prevalence of wonderful words announcing breathlessly the coming of new light, new love, new life, new courage, new hope. Some sounds can only be perceived with spiritual ears.

Just as a human does not have the capacity to hear a dog whistle because certain sounds are above the human registry, there are certain things we cannot hear or understand unless we are hearing at a certain level of willingness and obedience in prayer. So it is, if we come to Jesus, bringing our listening ears, we will be able to hear the good news that is above our normal register. May it be so today and always.[slide # 12 God is speaking…] Amen. [slide # 13 Grant your servants…]