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“Do you hear what I hear?”
Do you hear the baby Jesus cry, born in a stable so long ago on a cold winter’s night?
Do you hear his mother, little more than a child herself, soothe him with words of love?
Do you follow his wandering gaze around the stable where cows and sheep stare back at this unknown intruder?
Can you feel the warm sticky breath of these animals as they moved closer to have a look?
Do you hear what I hear?
The angels sang. His mother and father and shepherds heard. And years later, thousands of people listened to the message He spoke as they gathered on mountainsides and by the sea and in the little Galilean towns to hear His words of comfort, healing, hope and understanding.
Do you hear what I hear?
It is God’s voice speaking through the ages, calling His people to come and see, come and listen, come and worship. “My Son is born!” He has come to save you from your sins.
As a counselor, I listen to people share their hurts and pains.
Spouses attack and defend, slowly tearing the fabric of their relationship apart; not because they are mean-spirited or uncaring, but simply because they do not know how to express or hear the need of each other.
Fears of rejection run deep in the spirit of our subconscious, keeping them safely hidden because we do not know what to do with them. Instead, we follow survival instincts, lash out and demand that everyone follows our unrealistic expectations and rules. And communication comes to a standstill as we put the other on notice to change or else.
Jesus came to bind up the wounded.
As people begged him to heal their physical ailments, it was their hearts that Jesus “heard” and responded to – the internal pain, anxiety, and fear. And in hearing, told them that love was the answer – not murder or hatred or revenge or even divorce.
Love your enemies; love your neighbor. Love yourselves.
He understood their pain.
And he taught us that God loves us so much that He, Jesus, was sent to earth to show us that love through his death.
His love is unconditional – we can’t earn it by following rules or through sacrifice; it is a gift He gave that night as a tiny baby in a stable long ago. With mud and spit and simple commands, Jesus healed physical bodies; but it was the healing of their hearts that made the difference.
Healing starts when we put our injured lives at His feet and reach out for His healing love.
Do you hear what I hear?
I hear people silently crying.
I hear the wounded in spirit fearfully and with anxiety reach out to friends and family to be heard, loved, and accepted instead of judged, dismissed or ignored.
I hear the wounded lash out in anger.
I hear the words of Jesus tell us to go out and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – to clothe the poor and look out for the disenfranchised.
Do you hear what I hear?
I hear a world crying to “hear” the words of Jesus through the actions of his followers.
I hear the angels sing joyously.
I hear the awed silence of simple and uneducated shepherds who somehow knew that something special had just happened.
I hear God whispering to us to listen to His son and to reach out and listen to those around us.