June 14, 2020, Proverbs 2:1-11 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflections

You can find this week’s Scripture at –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+2%3A1-11&version=NRSV

and you can very easily look at different translations and even put several translations in parallel, for instance,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs%202%3A1-11&version=NRSV;NIV;CEB

IV.
The other day I asked,
“What does The Lord call us to do? …. And how does The Lord call on us to pay attention?”

Look at how the passage begins, “My child, if you accept my words, and treasure up my commandments …”

Sometimes when we hear about “commandments,” especially in the context of “… you accept …” we might hear something of the tone a parent has when they say, “… because I said so!”

I’m not claiming the Proverbist had that tone in mind but do you see how certain words might bring about that feeling and maybe a certain defensiveness in us?

V.
As I began thinking about that it came to mind that many times in our congregations, especially in preaching and worship services, much of what goes on is in a monologue. We sit and we listen. Maybe we hear. But it is put to us in the form of a monologue, someone speaks and we listen. We can get very passive in such a setting.

Take a moment and go back to this passage and notice what is expected of those he calls “my child.”

making your ear attentive
inclining your heart to understanding;
cry out for insight,
raise your voice for understanding;
seek it like silver,
search for it as for hidden treasures—

then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.

I don’t hear him calling his hearers to be passive. I hear him calling them to engage with him, to be not only “active” listeners, but also to “cry out,” to “raise your voice.” Is he calling for dialogue and not monologue?

It really seems to me that he is looking for some interaction from his hearers.

VI.
So, I ask again, “…how does The Lord call on us to pay attention?”

Does God want us invested in the process of hearing, learning, and understanding his Word to us? Or is God only interested in us repeating back the words we hear in some monologue in a preaching service?

What do you think?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}


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