Listen.

The Christmas season officially starts on December 25 and lasts until January 6, contrary to the consumer calendar. For me, that’s a blessing—time to relax, to sleep late, to “just” be with family and friends while the house is still festive. I found a quotation from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Protestant theologian who spoke out against Hitler’s version of Christianity and was executed for his participation in a plot to assassinate Hitler. It was the basis of my sermon Christmas Day, but it seems to resonate also with the Shema: “Hear, O Israel . . .,” and with general wisdom about relationships.

“Those who cannot hear another person are no longer able to hear God’s word, or to pray. Our love for one another consists first of all in listening.” 

This season offers an invitation to listen. For Christians, listen to the conversations, recorded and imagined, between the angels and Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth and the shepherds. For everyone, listen to each other. Really listen. Full attention, seeking understanding, not finishing the other’s sentences or preparing your response while they’re still speaking. The discipline of listening develops over time, needs constant practice and gets harder when distance between people, or troublesome history, gets in the way. Yet it is a profound gift—remember how it felt the last time someone really listened to you?

“Those who cannot hear another person are no longer able to hear God’s word, or to pray. Our love for one another consists first of all in listening.” 

If believers of any faith practice listening to other people, we will deepen our ability to hear God and pray. Listen, and deepen your love for other people and all of creation, in this season and always.