Hear Ye Hear Ye

Jesus says "Let those who have ears hear." - loose translation. I've begun to understand this statement to mean  we hear what we are ready to hear. Once I was in a group counseling situation in which we heard each other and the counselor speak the same truth to a group member for nearly a year. One day she said with some anger and surprise, "Why didn't you tell me that sooner." We'd been telling her for a year. She wasn't ready to hear. If I am going to witness, I have to listen to the "other" and learn what they are ready to hear. I can tell someone all day about the great elder-care counseling and support we have at our church, but until they are in an elder care situation, they won't hear what I have to say. It sounds odd to say it, but the first and most important skill in witnessing is listening. If I really listen to the people around me in my neighborhood, my workplace, my social set, I can discern what they want or need to hear. I was in conversation with someone in a non-profit I serve about paying their dues, when I found us moving from unpaid dues to her life situation, recent divorce, loss of job.... I asked her if she had a faith community of support, and handed her one of our Stephen Ministry information cards. (Yes, I do carry them with me in my purse all the time.) Did she call? I have no idea, that information is confidential. What I do know is that when I least expected it, I heard that someone was in need, and had the opportunity to witness, to share, what I knew about our faith community and let her know she was welcome. Witness isn't limited to some big speech on a corner, or standing up in front of the church and telling a faith story. Witnesses hear and respond appropriately and compassionately to the situations they find in the world around them. Witnessing may be as silent as a hug, or as quiet as a written note. Never knowing when the opportunity will come, stewards keep our lamps trimmed and filled, ready for the moment.