HOW WELL DO WE HEAR?

On New Year's morning I took a Canadian flight to Vancouver, B.C. for the annual North American Academy of Liturgy meeting. On Epiphany Sunday I participated in the Cathedral Eucharist. The Word of God was proclaimed splendidly. All three readers proclaimed the Word with intelligence and feeling. Their pace was leisurely and unhurried. The Assembly was really attentive.

This led me to the question: how well do we hear? The question goes beyond physical hearing. The ancients believed that hearing the biblical Word of God was nourishment for the Christian life. Hearing was the way to till the soil of the heart, cultivate the emotions of the soul, and shape the affections of the spirit. Hearing the Word was traditionally a fourfold process. The process was easily remembered (in Latin): lectio, meditatio, oratio, et contemplatio. Holy contemplating the mystery of the Tri-personal God.

I want to comment on the first step in the process. This was known as lectio divina or holy reading. We modern people are used to reading for information and for pleasure. We often speed read. We read to analyze and to study. Our reading is usually a solitary and silent satisfaction. Highly literate people even read plays and poetry silently. All of this would surprise and shock our forebears.

Ancient peoples were used to reading aloud. Reading was sensuous. People read aloud so that all the senses would be involved: sight, speaking, moving the jaw muscles, listening, and hearing. Holy reading came to be called rumination, a chewing of the Word of God. The goal was neither speed nor quantity. The goal was to read a small and manageable section of Scripture. Then one was to take the Word into one's consciousness. The technique was simple. Biblical texts were slowly repeated over and over, chewed, memorized, assimilated, appreciated, and cherished in the heart. When someone heard the sound of the words, the Word was allowed room to resonate and echo within. Finally, this leisurely process made room for the Word to abide deeply within, to sink into one's heart of hearts. The heart became the ark where the Word of God rested.

How do we hear God's Word? How can we learn good skills to enable us to hear the Word effectively? First, everyone has to take some time during the week to sit down leisurely and quietly so that a holy reading of the Word of God can engage us. Biblical persons become friends. Biblical affections are personalized. Biblical events connect with one's life. Secondly, consistent Bible study helps one's understanding. The Word becomes food for one's life. Thirdly, those who minister the Word can develop this task so that proclamation is done skillfully. Proclamation is an art. Time is spent in study, prayer, and practice. Finally, show up before the liturgy begins on Sunday so that proclaiming and hearing is attentive, alert, and active, and is done without hurry or distraction. The discipline of leisurely listening to God's Word assures that people cherish precious words and share bountiful blessing.