Listen and Learn!

Silent and Listen interestingly have the same letters .

“We must be silent before we can listen.
We must listen before we can learn.
We must learn before we can prepare.
We must prepare before we can serve.
We must serve before we can lead.”
William Arthur Ward



Therefore, my friends, do not expect that your task will be an easy one. The moment you set yourself to read, distractions will come upon you - perhaps you should just make a couple of phone calls, perhaps you might just read something else instead, whatever it is. The moment you set your ear to listen for God's word, all kinds of other voices will crowd in, whispering and wheedling and clamouring for attention. And the moment you loosen your tongue to say what it is that you've seen in your reading and heard in your listening there will be not only delight but also dismay: delight from those who find their hearts touched and their weariness comforted by the word you speak, but dismay from those who find their idols challenged and their empires undermined. That is how it was with Jesus' answer to James and John. That is how it was when Paul preached Jesus as Lord within the empire that believed that Caesar was Lord. And that is how it is today, as our society loses its last remaining grip on the vision of God in Christ and lurches towards the idols which sustain the normal worldly dreams of power and glory. And so you Readers have the special ministry of reading, listening and speaking which demands prayer and patience and stickability and a resolute determination not to be put off by other tasks, other voices, other powers than that of God's word itself. You are to be like someone lighting a candle and then walking down a windy street to someone who needs that light: you must shield what you read, what you hear, and what you are about to say from the winds of temptation and distraction and fear until you can shine the light in the dark room, the dark heart, the dark world, or (God help us!) the dark church where it is most sorely needed.

Part of "The Ear of the Servant, the Tongue of the Teacher" Sermon Durham Cathedral Tom Right

Bishop of Durham