Did You Hear That

did you hear that?
tim pezzelle
2011-02
 
i had a "wow moment" at church last sunday.  to properly paint the picture, a little background - if you don't mind.  our church provides two simultaneous services: one in the chapel and one in the conference center.  each service has live worship music, but the sermon is transmitted from the chapel to the conference center and is projected on three very large screens.  the only significant difference between the two venues is that the music in the conference center tends to be louder.
 
so, i'm picking up my earplugs on the way in to the conference center (that was supposed to be an elegant, humorous segway(sp)) because i'm not really in the mood for full throttle music.  we enter, find seats and i put the earplugs in.  these things are great; the amplification is loud enough that you can still hear the speakers and the music, but at a comfortable level.
 
on to the "wow moment".  communion has been celebrated and the baskets for the communion cups are making their way around the room.  a basket comes to me, i put my cup in the basket and pass it along.  we muffed the handoff - the basket, as if in slow motion, begins a painful descent to the floor.  but i have these great earplugs in, so i don't hear any of the commotion as the basket lands, cups scatter and heads turn.  i'm in an isolated world of silence.
 
the gentleman to whom i passed the basket makes a very rapid movement to correct the mess.  i'm not moving that fast.  by the time i have picked up a single cup, he has righted the basked and gotten all the other cups back in place.  a moment later, the basket is on it's way again.

 
now, the "wow moment".  i was struck by how desperately he seemed to want to put this behind him and get that basket moving again.  i was struck by how meaningless it seemed to me.  why did we react so differently to the same situation?  am i harboring a secret desire to be disruptive in a church service?  i mean, i always put my phone on vibrate.  does that sound like the attitude of a wanton disturber of the service?  i think not.

 
the difference between our reactions was the earplugs.  to me, the basket fell silently to the floor.  the cups scattered without so much as a clink or tinkle.  it was like nothing urgent had happened because i didn't hear the crash.  i didn't hear the restrained giggles and laughs, and so they weren't happening.  i reacted based on the perceived lack of urgency created by my impaired state of hearing.

 
for the remainder of the service, my thoughts kept returning to imagined things the gentleman next to me must have been thinking....  mostly.... "wow, that clumsy oaf didn't care at all".
 
how much of my life have i spent this way?  walking around with earplugs on.  you can take that literally or metaphorically.  when you're pouring your heart out to me and i'm not reacting at all the way i should - it's probably because i haven't really heard you.  maybe i've heard the words, but missed what your heart was saying.... and so i sit there, unemotional, detached.... in my own isolated little world.
 
how many times have i been hurt by that same response?  if you're not reacting to me as i would hope, maybe you haven't heard me.... maybe something in your day has you more in need of ministry than to minister.  maybe i should cut you some slack, find out what's going on in your life and try spilling my beans later....
 
here's an amazing thing....  God heard your heart before it beat for the first time.  He heard your desperation before you were able to form a thought.  He hears those unspoken fears and shouted victories.  before you knew your deepest need, He heard you and made a way for you.  the cross of Christ is God's declaration that His kingdom is a "no earplugs zone".
 
i'm sure i will get this wrong many more times than i get it right, but the silent chaos of that basket has reminded me to tune in... and to be very thankful that God is always tuned in.