Apr 26 2019 John 16: 1-15

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now

Jesus continues his farewell address, offered at that time between the last supper and his arrest. He has already told the disciples a lot. Their heads must be spinning. And in today’s reading, he drops a few bombs on them like, “when those who kill you will think they’re offering worship to God”, and “it is to your advantage that I go away”. 

And to this confused, grieving, shocked group of followers, he says he has many more things to tell them but they cannot hear. Aargh!  How frustrating something like that must have been to hear. What do you mean, you have more to say?  What do you mean I cannot hear it now? 

But that’s actually very wise, if not frustrating. I have an ill family member, whose illness is rearing its ugly head again. Talking with them, I feel like I imagine Jesus felt. Can’t you understand? Can’t you see things the way I see it? Oh, right. You cannot, because what we see and understand as truth are not the same. 

At those moments in my life, it’s easy to try to “clarify” what I’m saying, as if saying things differently will somehow make everything clear. That reminds me about days in college, where I started as a deaf education major. Occasionally, we’d go to the mall and communicate exclusively with sign language. It was surprising how many hearing folk would talk to us, we’d respond in sign language as if deaf, and they’d respond by talking louder.  Their need to tell us something may have been there, but our ability to 'hear' what they were was not there. But still they persisted, because they had something to say.  

In my current world, it’s not a matter of me repeating myself and talking louder to the deaf person, it’s repeating myself or clarifying to someone who cannot understand. The wise thing to do would be to stop talking, or to talk simply. And realize that although I have many things to say, you cannot hear them now. 

This morning I’m thinking about the wisdom of that. Although I may have many things to say, I need to be aware of the person to whom I’m talking, both family and others in the world. I need to be aware of the timing, their interests, distractions, realities. Maybe they cannot hear it right now. In fact, just because I have many things to say is entirely unrelated to anyone else’s need or ability to hear what I have to say. Today, I’m going be attentive, not to what I need to say, but to what they can hear.