They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. -Mark 7:32-33
Dear members and friends,
In ancient China, there was a philosopher named Han Feizi (280-233 B.C.E). Han Feizi is known as the founder of legalism in China. In his book, which is titled “Han Feizi”, he begins with stating the challenge and difficulty of talking. There are three major challenges in talking: 1. The challenge of being clear in one’s mind on what to talk about; 2. The challenge of knowing the proper timing to talk; 3. The challenge of the unknowable mentality of the listener. To Han Feizi, the third challenge was the most serious one because to him, the listener was the king or the emperor. If you were to deliver a talk to the king at the wrong time or in the wrong way, the result would have been losing your life. These days, talking may not cause such serious consequences as in the time of Han Feizi. But mindless and inconsiderate talking could cause serious damage in human relationships. One thing that is absolutely clear about talking is that we cannot take back what we already have said.
In human relationships, what is equally if not more important as talking is listening. What is confusing about listening is its difference from our innate ability to hear. Interestingly, when asked most modern people could distinguish the difference between listening and hearing. So why is it confusing? The problem lies in our general assumption that simply because we heard something, we understood it. However, while hearing is the ability to process sound with our ears for the purpose of communication, listening is the cultivated ability to understand the probable meaning and intention behind the words that we heard. In other words, most people can hear without much effort, but they can also live their lives without ever developing the ability to listen. However, without listening, our ability to talk might have an impediment. This is why Jesus cured the deaf man who had an impediment in his speech in such a specific way.
My brothers and sisters in God, let us take a moment of silence this week. Let us take this time to deeply listen to the words that we have heard. With the blessing of God, our mind may be enabled to understand what we have heard.
Blessings, Rev. Junchol Lee