Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 23: Year 2
Morning, Psalm 119:1to24; Evening, Psalms 12, 13 and 14;
Jonah 1:17to2:10; Acts 27:9to26; Luke 9:1to17
“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, ‘I called to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol. I cried, and you heard my voice.” (Jonah 2:1 and 2)
I have a saying, “God’s ears hears tears.” I know it’s not correct grammar but it works for me. It is a reminder that when we are at our lowest in life, all we have to do is cry out to God. Theologians will tell us that we can’t know God. And, maybe there is some truth to that. But maybe we can know something about God. Throughout the Bible God comes to the aid of people who come to tears, from Hagar (Genesis 21:16), to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11), and many points in between. God comes to people who cry from sadness, grief, or abuse.
I have come to believe that it matters not what people believe in terms of getting God’s attention. God is so attached to the sadness of humans that even if a self declared atheist cries, God is with him or her. We can’t escape the love of God. God loves us more than we love God. God forgives our shortcomings. God overlooks our ignorance. God is eternally merciful and therefore, God’s ears hears tears.
If you think you don’t know how to pray, just cry; it works. Cry from sadness, Cry from abuse or victimization. Cry from loss of a loved one. In all these, God is with you. God made us with secret alarms that go directly to God which brings God to us in times of distress. This is why God’s ears hears tears. This does not mean that God will respond in a way that suits the one crying. It does mean that God is present and attentive in ways beyond the discernment of mortals.
In the Biblical examples above, an angel attended to Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis, and Jesus called Mary by Name in the Gospel of John. In our story of Jonah for today the writer has Jonah spit out by the sea creature on the shores of Nineveh. It takes these times of desolation and isolation to become contemplative enough to feel the presence of God with us, Emanuel.
This still happens today. Don’t wait until something bad happens. Carve out some time to be still and be quiet and wait for God. Reflect on your life, the good and the bad. If you come to tears, watch out! God’s ears, hears tears.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools. And, as we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
Let us pray:
Almighty God, Creator and nurturer of all humanity, be close to us always, but more especially in our times of sadness, grief and fear. Let your loving ears always hear and respond to our tears. Amen.
onewhoponders 