Eph 2:12-22, Ps 85:9-14, Lk 12:35-38

Today’s readings carry familiar themes. Ephesians is talking about how Jesus has brought Jews and Gentiles together into one faith community. The things that clearly separated them before, like circumcision, the law and its practices, no longer mean anything once they believe in Jesus. Luke’s Gospel reminds believers that if they are diligent in their faith then God will surprise believers with a generosity beyond what they would expect.

However, it is what the Psalm says that suggested to me that perhaps we need to listen harder:

I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD–for he proclaims peace. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land.

By listening harder, I mean that we need to let the readings speak to us personally. One of my retreat directors once told me, “When you read the scripture, listen as if it was said to you personally.” I do that all the time and it helps me hear what God is saying, by listening better. For as the Psalm suggests, if we hear what God proclaims then God will be present to us. That is what the Psalmist means by saying, “his salvation is near indeed.”

So perhaps what we need to examine this morning is how deeply important it is to let God speak to us. For example, the part of Ephesians that really speaks to me is the little phrase, “you, who were once far off, have become near.” Since there have been lots of times in my life when I have felt “far off” from God and from other people, it has been a huge relief at times to hear the words that I “have become near” as the letter says. This is essentially an emotional reaction to these specific words, separate from the rest of the letter and not directly related to the larger content. But in these instances, I’m not analyzing the Scripture I’m praying with it, trying to be open to what God may be saying to me. Frankly, at those times an emotional response is more valid than any thoughts I might have about what is being said. Too often the Church has focused so much on technical meaning, intellectual understanding or analysis that we have failed to acknowledge that being close, in this case to God, is an emotional experience. My point is that experiences that come from a couple words of Scripture or from a momentary flash of recognition or surprisingly emotional life moments can be deep, personal encounters with the God who is trying to be in touch with us. God reaches out to the deepest part of who we are. Lots of our thinking is just the surface. If we have to be in touch with our emotions to know who we are, well so does God. That’s why the Psalm says, “ Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him” The phrase “fear him” is better translated as “in awe of him.” When we can connect our emotions to what we sense from God then “near indeed is his salvation” or in other words, God is close.

Finally, our Gospel can add something to this because Luke says we need to be ready at any hour with our lamps lit so we can open immediately when he knocks. This story is often interpreted as about death and how we need to live our lives so that we are ready at the moment God comes for us. However, it is also a perfect description of eagerly being ready for an experience of God trying to be with us, to speak to our situation. We never know when some word or some event will ask us to “open immediately” for God. When that happens, the Psalm says, “glory will dwell in our land” we will know God is here with us.

So now, in each moment, is the time when God may say something to us, the only question is, will we be listening well enough to hear it?