A Hearing Heart
Sermon
Sermons On The First Readings
Series II, Cycle B
A Hearing Heart
The fact that Solomon was a king makes it difficult for most modern readers of the Bible to identify personally with him. But there is one reason above all that makes it almost impossible for any of us to picture ourselves in his sandals: God came to Solomon and made him an open-ended offer -- "Ask what I should give you."
I mean, when is the last time God made such an offer to you or me?
Solomon's father, King David, had died, and now Solomon assumed the throne. Solomon started out very well, ruling carefully and obeying God. In fact, in those days before the temple had been built at Jerusalem, Solomon was faithful in visiting the shrine at Gibeon to worship God.
It was while staying overnight during one of those visits that God came to Solomon in a dream and made this carte blanche offer, saying in effect, "Name what you want, and it's yours."
Talk about hitting big on the lottery!
Well, what would you have asked for? Wealth? Fame? Perfect health till the day you die at a ripe old age? A lifetime of happiness? Freedom from troubles? A compliant mate who would cater to your every whim?
What Solomon asked for was "an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil." Now in talking about Solomon, we normally abbreviate that request to say simply that he asked for wisdom, and the expression "the wisdom of Solomon" has become a catch phrase in our common speech. That's a fair way to shorthand Solomon's request, but it doesn't quite capture all that the original Hebrew of this passage conveys. What's been translated in English as "an understanding mind" is, in Hebrew, literally "a hearing heart," which implies not so much the cleverness of clear thought as the empathy of deeper understanding. And the other part of what Solomon asked for, rendered in English as the ability to "discern between good and evil," is in the literal Hebrew, the ability "to hear judgment." Putting this together, Solomon was asking for the ability to hear God's truth compassionately.
The single English word that probably comes the closest to the meaning here is not "wisdom" but "discernment." At its most basic level, discernment simply means recognizing differences, and note that part of what Solomon asked God for was the capacity "to discern between good and evil."
According to the scripture reading, discernment was a gift given by God to Solomon in an unusually large measure. Solomon became noted for his discernment and wisdom.
But so what? Why should you and I should talk about discernment today if it was a special gift given to Solomon back in the dark ages of the Old Testament? Here's why: Just because discernment was given to him in such quantity does not mean that the rest of us haven't been given any. In fact, in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul speaks of the things that Christians can "spiritually discern" because the Holy Spirit gives them -- us -- that gift (1 Corinthians 2:14-15). Like any gift of the Spirit, it is given in different measures to different people, but most Christians have the gift to some degree. In short, discernment is the ability to make good judgments in our spiritual lives. So we should talk about discernment this morning to help us recognize the gift that is within us as people of Christ, and to consider what means God uses to help us listen, to help us exercise our hearing heart.
It is important to distinguish at this point between spiritual discernment and the more general good judgment that many people possess, the judgment that enables them to perceive truth from falsehood or at least to suspect when something is not as it is presented to be.
That general kind of discernment is a practical and useful ability. What parents of teenagers would not like to have it in Solomon-sized portions when their son is telling them that the drugs they found in his room were just something he was holding for a friend? Or when their daughter says she really did spend the night at her girlfriend's house despite a report the parents heard to the contrary?
Or who among us would not like to have major bequest of general discernment when faced with what seems like a surefire investment opportunity from some unproven source? We'd like to be able to spot a scam if it is one.
And what pastor, being responsible for administering the congregation's helping fund, would not like to be able to discern when the story an applicant for help presents is really true and when it is calculated merely to "work the system"?
Those are quite legitimate examples of where we need to be savvy, but we don't necessarily have to be spiritually minded people to possess it. To some degree, it is a part of common sense.
Spiritual discernment, however, goes beyond that. It is the ability to tell the difference between, in some cases, good and evil, and in other cases, what is God's will and what is not. In either circumstance, however, it grows out of a hearing heart. Its purpose is to help us decide whether or not something is from God. Let me offer two examples:
The first is from Ignatius of Loyola, the sixteenth-century cleric who founded the Jesuit movement within the Catholic church. He tells in his Autobiography about what he considered his first experience of discernment. He said that when he dreamed of doing great heroic acts and of winning the hand of a wonderful woman he felt happy and enthusiastic. But those feelings did not last, and later, were replaced by discontent. When he dreamed of doing great things for God, he also felt happy and enthusiastic, and those feelings stayed with him; they did not dissipate. He wrote that this difference in how his initial feelings played out helped to open his spiritual eyes a little. He had taken a small step toward a lifetime of distinguishing between what was a God-inspired impulse and what was not.1
The second example comes from Thomas Coke, one of the early Methodist preachers John Wesley sent from England to evangelize on the American frontier. Coke came here in 1784 and became the first bishop in American Methodism. He tells in his journal of visiting a church in Annapolis, Maryland, where the congregation "began to pray and praise aloud in a most astonishing manner" (to use Coke's words). This was quite different from the quiet worship services Coke was accustomed to, and he says that at first he was reluctant to enter into the spirit of this more boisterous worship. But eventually, he says, his tears began to flow and he experienced the worship as "comforting" and "strengthening." He was also confirmed in deciding that the worship really was from God when he observed the number of converts coming to Christ through the activity of this congregation.2
In both of these examples, the person's feelings helped in discerning the truth. In other words, feelings, while not always valid indicators of how we should act, can give us clues about what the truth is. Scott Peck is a psychiatrist, author, and committed Christian. You possibly know of him from his profound book, The Road Less Traveled, which was on national best-seller lists for a long time. He has another book, not quite as well known, titled People of the Lie, which is a study of evil. In it, he makes the case that occasionally people whom counselors encounter are driven not by one of the mental or emotional problems already identified by the study of human behavior, but by evil itself, and he makes a compelling case. But what is of interest to us today is what he describes as ways a counselor may begin to make that diagnosis. He suggests two things initially, and they come under the heading of what psychology calls "countertransference." That's an umbrella term to refer to the feelings a counselor experiences toward his or her counselee, and it can be any of the range of usual emotions. In the case of a counselee who is driven by evil, Peck says that what the counselor is likely to feel is revulsion and confusion.3 Those feelings, Peck suggests, can help counselors at least suspect what they are dealing with -- and even to decide whether they should deal with it. The same feelings can be clues to us as well in our encounters with others, especially when we are ourselves living within the Spirit of God.
But, of course, we are talking about spiritual discernment, so we are thinking not primarily about counseling tools but as a way to listen to God and to others. Hence, the hearing heart. The biggest difference between spiritual discernment and the more general ability to spot the truth is that spiritual discernment relies on consciously seeking God's direction. God may use our feelings as one way to communicate with us, but not the only way. He also uses our thinking processes. That's one reason why some people who have explored their gift of discernment have offered guidelines for discerning when something is in line with God's will and when it is not. Here are some of those guidelines, and we can use them as we work in our own lives to understand God's will.
1.
Does the experience or idea really seem to be "given" to us instead of being desperately sought after?
2.
Does the choice encourage a deepened willingness to meet the world more fully, or does it seem to be more an escape from the world?
3.
Does it foster feelings of self-importance and autonomous mastery, or does it deepen humility and realization of dependence on God?
4.
Is it appreciated for the good it may do, or for its drama and excitement?
5.
Does it deepen or diminish compassion?
6.
What is the atmosphere of awareness within which the idea occurs; is the awareness light and loving and open, or is it dark and tense, filled with striving and drivenness?
7.
Is there a sense of conformity with the mind and heart of Jesus?
8.
Is there a sense of congruence with who we are in God and how God has been active in our life?
9.
Does the choice fit within the overall tradition of the Christian community and are we willing to test it out within that community?4
One more means that God uses to help us discern his will is our prayer life. Remember that although God spoke to Solomon in a dream, they had a prayer-like conversation. God invited Solomon to speak to him, and that's exactly what Solomon did, using the language of prayer. (Go back and read vv. 7-9 in our text and see how prayer-like they sound.) Certainly that's one thing prayer is for -- to lay out before God what we are considering and ask his help in our deciding what is his will.
To sum up, discernment, the ability to make good judgments in our spiritual lives, is a gift from God. And among the methods God uses to help us discern are informing our feelings, filling our thinking processes, and meeting us in prayer.
So discernment was not just a gift for Solomon centuries ago, but is a gift for Christians in every age. Can we know God's will about everything? No. But can we discover God's will for our own spiritual lives? Absolutely. That's what he has given this gift of discernment for.
Let us seek it and use it.
____________
1.ÊCited by William Barry and William Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction (San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1986), p. 102.
2.ÊSelections from the Writings of Thomas Coke, Warren Thomas Smith, ed. (Nashville: The Upper Room, 1966), p. 15.
3.ÊM. Scott Peck, People of the Lie (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), pp. 62-66.
4.ÊThese questions have been drawn from two sources: Gerald May, Care of Mind/Care of Spirit (San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, reprint edition, 1992), p. 144; and Michael Battle, writing in Essentials of Christian Theology, William C. Placher, ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), p. 287.
The fact that Solomon was a king makes it difficult for most modern readers of the Bible to identify personally with him. But there is one reason above all that makes it almost impossible for any of us to picture ourselves in his sandals: God came to Solomon and made him an open-ended offer -- "Ask what I should give you."
I mean, when is the last time God made such an offer to you or me?
Solomon's father, King David, had died, and now Solomon assumed the throne. Solomon started out very well, ruling carefully and obeying God. In fact, in those days before the temple had been built at Jerusalem, Solomon was faithful in visiting the shrine at Gibeon to worship God.
It was while staying overnight during one of those visits that God came to Solomon in a dream and made this carte blanche offer, saying in effect, "Name what you want, and it's yours."
Talk about hitting big on the lottery!
Well, what would you have asked for? Wealth? Fame? Perfect health till the day you die at a ripe old age? A lifetime of happiness? Freedom from troubles? A compliant mate who would cater to your every whim?
What Solomon asked for was "an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil." Now in talking about Solomon, we normally abbreviate that request to say simply that he asked for wisdom, and the expression "the wisdom of Solomon" has become a catch phrase in our common speech. That's a fair way to shorthand Solomon's request, but it doesn't quite capture all that the original Hebrew of this passage conveys. What's been translated in English as "an understanding mind" is, in Hebrew, literally "a hearing heart," which implies not so much the cleverness of clear thought as the empathy of deeper understanding. And the other part of what Solomon asked for, rendered in English as the ability to "discern between good and evil," is in the literal Hebrew, the ability "to hear judgment." Putting this together, Solomon was asking for the ability to hear God's truth compassionately.
The single English word that probably comes the closest to the meaning here is not "wisdom" but "discernment." At its most basic level, discernment simply means recognizing differences, and note that part of what Solomon asked God for was the capacity "to discern between good and evil."
According to the scripture reading, discernment was a gift given by God to Solomon in an unusually large measure. Solomon became noted for his discernment and wisdom.
But so what? Why should you and I should talk about discernment today if it was a special gift given to Solomon back in the dark ages of the Old Testament? Here's why: Just because discernment was given to him in such quantity does not mean that the rest of us haven't been given any. In fact, in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul speaks of the things that Christians can "spiritually discern" because the Holy Spirit gives them -- us -- that gift (1 Corinthians 2:14-15). Like any gift of the Spirit, it is given in different measures to different people, but most Christians have the gift to some degree. In short, discernment is the ability to make good judgments in our spiritual lives. So we should talk about discernment this morning to help us recognize the gift that is within us as people of Christ, and to consider what means God uses to help us listen, to help us exercise our hearing heart.
It is important to distinguish at this point between spiritual discernment and the more general good judgment that many people possess, the judgment that enables them to perceive truth from falsehood or at least to suspect when something is not as it is presented to be.
That general kind of discernment is a practical and useful ability. What parents of teenagers would not like to have it in Solomon-sized portions when their son is telling them that the drugs they found in his room were just something he was holding for a friend? Or when their daughter says she really did spend the night at her girlfriend's house despite a report the parents heard to the contrary?
Or who among us would not like to have major bequest of general discernment when faced with what seems like a surefire investment opportunity from some unproven source? We'd like to be able to spot a scam if it is one.
And what pastor, being responsible for administering the congregation's helping fund, would not like to be able to discern when the story an applicant for help presents is really true and when it is calculated merely to "work the system"?
Those are quite legitimate examples of where we need to be savvy, but we don't necessarily have to be spiritually minded people to possess it. To some degree, it is a part of common sense.
Spiritual discernment, however, goes beyond that. It is the ability to tell the difference between, in some cases, good and evil, and in other cases, what is God's will and what is not. In either circumstance, however, it grows out of a hearing heart. Its purpose is to help us decide whether or not something is from God. Let me offer two examples:
The first is from Ignatius of Loyola, the sixteenth-century cleric who founded the Jesuit movement within the Catholic church. He tells in his Autobiography about what he considered his first experience of discernment. He said that when he dreamed of doing great heroic acts and of winning the hand of a wonderful woman he felt happy and enthusiastic. But those feelings did not last, and later, were replaced by discontent. When he dreamed of doing great things for God, he also felt happy and enthusiastic, and those feelings stayed with him; they did not dissipate. He wrote that this difference in how his initial feelings played out helped to open his spiritual eyes a little. He had taken a small step toward a lifetime of distinguishing between what was a God-inspired impulse and what was not.1
The second example comes from Thomas Coke, one of the early Methodist preachers John Wesley sent from England to evangelize on the American frontier. Coke came here in 1784 and became the first bishop in American Methodism. He tells in his journal of visiting a church in Annapolis, Maryland, where the congregation "began to pray and praise aloud in a most astonishing manner" (to use Coke's words). This was quite different from the quiet worship services Coke was accustomed to, and he says that at first he was reluctant to enter into the spirit of this more boisterous worship. But eventually, he says, his tears began to flow and he experienced the worship as "comforting" and "strengthening." He was also confirmed in deciding that the worship really was from God when he observed the number of converts coming to Christ through the activity of this congregation.2
In both of these examples, the person's feelings helped in discerning the truth. In other words, feelings, while not always valid indicators of how we should act, can give us clues about what the truth is. Scott Peck is a psychiatrist, author, and committed Christian. You possibly know of him from his profound book, The Road Less Traveled, which was on national best-seller lists for a long time. He has another book, not quite as well known, titled People of the Lie, which is a study of evil. In it, he makes the case that occasionally people whom counselors encounter are driven not by one of the mental or emotional problems already identified by the study of human behavior, but by evil itself, and he makes a compelling case. But what is of interest to us today is what he describes as ways a counselor may begin to make that diagnosis. He suggests two things initially, and they come under the heading of what psychology calls "countertransference." That's an umbrella term to refer to the feelings a counselor experiences toward his or her counselee, and it can be any of the range of usual emotions. In the case of a counselee who is driven by evil, Peck says that what the counselor is likely to feel is revulsion and confusion.3 Those feelings, Peck suggests, can help counselors at least suspect what they are dealing with -- and even to decide whether they should deal with it. The same feelings can be clues to us as well in our encounters with others, especially when we are ourselves living within the Spirit of God.
But, of course, we are talking about spiritual discernment, so we are thinking not primarily about counseling tools but as a way to listen to God and to others. Hence, the hearing heart. The biggest difference between spiritual discernment and the more general ability to spot the truth is that spiritual discernment relies on consciously seeking God's direction. God may use our feelings as one way to communicate with us, but not the only way. He also uses our thinking processes. That's one reason why some people who have explored their gift of discernment have offered guidelines for discerning when something is in line with God's will and when it is not. Here are some of those guidelines, and we can use them as we work in our own lives to understand God's will.
1.
Does the experience or idea really seem to be "given" to us instead of being desperately sought after?
2.
Does the choice encourage a deepened willingness to meet the world more fully, or does it seem to be more an escape from the world?
3.
Does it foster feelings of self-importance and autonomous mastery, or does it deepen humility and realization of dependence on God?
4.
Is it appreciated for the good it may do, or for its drama and excitement?
5.
Does it deepen or diminish compassion?
6.
What is the atmosphere of awareness within which the idea occurs; is the awareness light and loving and open, or is it dark and tense, filled with striving and drivenness?
7.
Is there a sense of conformity with the mind and heart of Jesus?
8.
Is there a sense of congruence with who we are in God and how God has been active in our life?
9.
Does the choice fit within the overall tradition of the Christian community and are we willing to test it out within that community?4
One more means that God uses to help us discern his will is our prayer life. Remember that although God spoke to Solomon in a dream, they had a prayer-like conversation. God invited Solomon to speak to him, and that's exactly what Solomon did, using the language of prayer. (Go back and read vv. 7-9 in our text and see how prayer-like they sound.) Certainly that's one thing prayer is for -- to lay out before God what we are considering and ask his help in our deciding what is his will.
To sum up, discernment, the ability to make good judgments in our spiritual lives, is a gift from God. And among the methods God uses to help us discern are informing our feelings, filling our thinking processes, and meeting us in prayer.
So discernment was not just a gift for Solomon centuries ago, but is a gift for Christians in every age. Can we know God's will about everything? No. But can we discover God's will for our own spiritual lives? Absolutely. That's what he has given this gift of discernment for.
Let us seek it and use it.
____________
1.ÊCited by William Barry and William Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction (San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1986), p. 102.
2.ÊSelections from the Writings of Thomas Coke, Warren Thomas Smith, ed. (Nashville: The Upper Room, 1966), p. 15.
3.ÊM. Scott Peck, People of the Lie (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), pp. 62-66.
4.ÊThese questions have been drawn from two sources: Gerald May, Care of Mind/Care of Spirit (San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, reprint edition, 1992), p. 144; and Michael Battle, writing in Essentials of Christian Theology, William C. Placher, ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), p. 287.
