Noticing Jesus
Bob Wickizer
Jeremiah 29:1-7
As I launched into writing this sermon, I was torn between writing about home, the experience of exile in Jeremiah and the call of God to ''remain in the city'' even after a very long time. But the sermon needs to address the needs and direction of the congregation so I began to look at the story of the healing of the ten lepers in Luke and I thought in this era of hyper-polarized politics, of changing the foundations of this church and loads of uncertainty about the future; we might need to talk about the simple act of seeing, hearing or just noticing. One of my favorite popular songs (I'm dating myself here) is called ''The Boxer'' by Simon and Garfunkel. For me the lyrics seem to reflect my own story of determination, setbacks and ambiguity, but the opening verse sets the stage for this reflection today.
I am just a poor boy
Though my story's seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles
Such are promises
All lies and jest
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
A man hears what he wants to hear, a woman sees what she wants to see, we all notice what we want to notice; and we disregard the rest.
Native Americans taught their warriors to truly see the world around them. A brave could be focused on the deer 200 yards straight ahead in the woods and at the same time, while looking straight ahead, he would notice the movement of a coyote way over here on the left and perhaps a bear way over there on the right. Seeing involves noticing what is in the peripheral vision as well as what is straight ahead. For the Indians, being able to see and notice everything was often a matter of life or death. The nine lepers died as well. They were healed of their disease but never noticed who healed them, they were never made whole.
The story tells us that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem in a region between Samaria and Galilee. This is odd because it would be li ...
Bob Wickizer
Jeremiah 29:1-7
As I launched into writing this sermon, I was torn between writing about home, the experience of exile in Jeremiah and the call of God to ''remain in the city'' even after a very long time. But the sermon needs to address the needs and direction of the congregation so I began to look at the story of the healing of the ten lepers in Luke and I thought in this era of hyper-polarized politics, of changing the foundations of this church and loads of uncertainty about the future; we might need to talk about the simple act of seeing, hearing or just noticing. One of my favorite popular songs (I'm dating myself here) is called ''The Boxer'' by Simon and Garfunkel. For me the lyrics seem to reflect my own story of determination, setbacks and ambiguity, but the opening verse sets the stage for this reflection today.
I am just a poor boy
Though my story's seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles
Such are promises
All lies and jest
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
A man hears what he wants to hear, a woman sees what she wants to see, we all notice what we want to notice; and we disregard the rest.
Native Americans taught their warriors to truly see the world around them. A brave could be focused on the deer 200 yards straight ahead in the woods and at the same time, while looking straight ahead, he would notice the movement of a coyote way over here on the left and perhaps a bear way over there on the right. Seeing involves noticing what is in the peripheral vision as well as what is straight ahead. For the Indians, being able to see and notice everything was often a matter of life or death. The nine lepers died as well. They were healed of their disease but never noticed who healed them, they were never made whole.
The story tells us that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem in a region between Samaria and Galilee. This is odd because it would be li ...
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