St. John's Lutheran Church & School Pastor_s

Listening Exercise

Do you have cotton in your ears?! How many times as a parent haven’t you said that? You say something and no one seems to hear. You give and instruction and nothing happens. Oblivious. We’ve all had it happen. Of course, we know our children don’t have cotton in their ears. (I did know a mom who said that her son stuck a bean in his ear, but let’s leave that for another time.) Anyway, sometimes as a father you do need to repeat things it seems.

Our Heavenly Father understands that as well. For many years he kept saying the same thing: I will send the Messiah. He said it in different ways. Sometimes He said it directly, like the promises to Abraham. More often he spoke through prophets like Isaiah or Jeremiah. Sometimes he used illustrations like the Old Testament prophet, priest and king. But in many ways he kept making the same promise: Jesus is coming. He must have wondered if anyone was listening.

As December begins, we too begin focusing on the coming of our Savior. We prepare for Christmas in many ways- perhaps by decorating our homes, baking cookies, putting up a tree, or buying gifts. The best way to prepare for Christmas is actually very simple and doesn’t cost anything. You only need your ears and your heart. Are you listening to God? Are you ready to hear what he says? So take the cotton and beans out of your ears and open your heart. Prepare for the coming Savior. May the Lord bless your Advent. Our Savior with his many blessings is near.

“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:23