Faith Comes through Hearing

I love that old question that asks, “If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to hear it, did it really make a sound?” I love the question because it will often spark debate or a friendly conversation. We could enter into a debate at this point to discuss it, but I will save you the energy. The answer is “No.”

I think that the question is asked to evoke philosophical and emotional discussions. I was one of those that entered the debate until I heard the answer described from a scientific perspective. From that scientific perspective, hearing takes both a transmitter and a receiver. If any one of the two is missing, there is no sound. In other words, there has to be someone in the woods for the tree to make a sound when it falls.

I like that perspective, because I’m one of those people that like things spelled out for me. I like things to be clear and concise. That explanation for me makes sense. In order for there to be sound, there has to be a transmitter and a receiver.

The same, I think, holds true with a message. There has to be someone giving the message, and there has to be someone who receives it. If any one of those two is missing, or becomes distorted in any way – the message is not heard.

Those who deliver messages have to think about that quite often. Words have power, and the words that we use have influence. Different people hear those words and the way that they receive them influences how the message is heard.

Further, there are times when a message is just not clear. The receiver is ready and willing, but when the message is unclear, the true intention of the message gets lost in the communication. I’ll ask for forgiveness in advance, this E-pistle just may be one of those messages!

We have to think about clarity of message quite often. How many times have you ever said to someone, “you just weren’t listening,” and in truth it was the message that was distorted? Or how many times has someone said to you, “I didn’t hear that,” and yet you were as clear as you could be about the facts. How many times have you taken a sip of coffee and then said, “Man that’s hot!” only to read in bold letters, CAUTION – CONTENTS HOT!

I have to think about how I say things in a letter that I write to campers each year. In order for the message to get across, I need to be clear. But sometimes I need to write things in BOLD so that people can get the message. The message is so important that I want them to hear. But inevitably, there are those who just don’t get the message. Each year at adventure camp, I know that we have communicated that we go biking, white water rafting, swimming, climbing, and CAVING. Inevitably, there will be someone who shows up who can’t swim, is afraid of heights, has never been on a bike before, or WHO IS AFRAID OF THE DARK. Believe me – I don’t like hearing “I’ve never ridden a bike,” when I am about to start on a 15 mile bike trip; or “I’m afraid of the dark,” when we are in the deepest and darkest part of a cave.

I also have to think about communication each and every week when I prepare for worship. Regardless of how good we are at communicating, there are always things that slip through the cracks. This past weekend, we had two couples show up for worship at 10:30 a.m. thinking that our worship began at 11:00 a.m. The great news is that they showed up early for our worship hour in our program year. During the summer, we worship at 10:00 a.m.

Was it their fault? – NO! It was mine. Actually, I’ll take half the blame and will cast the other to sea. The first couple called the church. The voice mail message on our church answering machine was old – it still said that worship began at 11:00. The other couple looked at a conference publication, and it said the same thing. Both circumstances were clearly instances of the message being wrong.

Those circumstances make me think so much about how the message of the Gospel is shared. Clearly, there are some who will not receive the message either because they just don’t want to hear it, or because they are not there to hear it. Maybe you could ask, “If a sermon is preached and no one is there to hear it, does it make an impact?” And regarding the transmission, there are so many who want to hear it proclaimed, but the message is lost because the message is garbled, messed-up, or just plain wrong.

Paul says in Romans 10, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believe in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” Later, he continues by saying, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

The church has some work to do. We have to constantly work at sharing the message. Sometimes, there isn’t much we can do but continue to preach hoping that the message is heard. Sometimes, regardless of how well we communicate, the message is lost. However, we have to continue to preach! Secondly, we have to work on the message. There are so many people who are hungry, thirsty, and really yearning to hear the Word spoken and proclaimed. We have to get it right for Jesus sake.

I hope this message has been transmitted well, and received. If you know someone who needs to hear that they are loved, send this message along, and remind them that they are loved by God. Don’t just assume people know – say it!

“Gracious God. We thank you for your message of love and forgiveness. We thank you for your love. Strengthen us for the journey of this week, and give us the message so that we can share it with others with hope and faith. And when we share, let there be ears to hear. Bless us, O Lord, in Jesus Name. Amen.”

By the way – worship starts at 10:00 a.m. this week. If you invite someone to worship, remember to stress that!