Prophetic Listening

II Kings 2:1–2, 6–14

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and the two of them crossed on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” He responded, “You have asked a hard thing, yet if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water. He said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? Where is he?” He struck the water again, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha crossed over.

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Before we dive into our meditation, I want us to stop. And then I want us to close our eyes. Then, when we get settled, I want us to think about a time when we had a challenging conversation, a conversation about who was right and wrong or about something you seriously value. Think about what you said, what the other person said, and what you felt afterward. So we'll spend a few minutes reflecting on such a time starting now. 

[3-5 Minute Silent Reflection]

What makes conversations like the ones you thought of so challenging? Or, even broader, what makes conversations about hard topics so difficult? Is it our emotional connection to what side of the conversation we hold onto as being right? Is it the topic itself that presents as a conversational trap? Is it our desire to correct someone we believe to be wrong? Or, could it be that what makes conversations about hard topics so difficult is that we may have to admit to ourselves that we were wrong? These conversations are exercises in our ability to listen, empathize, and reflect on whether we might need to reassess our beliefs. Now, if you're sitting there thinking or holding back the urge to say, "Hold up! I'm good at listening to people," then I believe you fall into the camp of the rest of us who require continual learning to listen well. 

Listening well requires that we set aside our temptation to come to a conversation with "right" answers or ears tuned to "listen," only to quickly retort after someone speaks. If we are listening only to come back with our response, that isn't listening. Authentic conversations occur when we learn to set aside our "fight or flight" response and open ourselves to what is being said. That is a key component of what it means to be a prophet or a disciple of God. We aren't called to enter into relationships with others with a Bible in one hand and a megaphone in another. It's about listening to stories of the heart, about beliefs that might run contrary to our own, and trusting that the Spirit is guiding us through all of it. Listening is a skill found in all walks of life, as we see with the prophets Elijah and Elisha, who came from opposite social spheres. They set aside their inner urge to fight with the voice of God. 

Prophets, as much as they are called to speak, are called to hear what the hearts of the people are saying. I mention this because I imagine over the course of the next few months or years, we'll be invited to converse with people about challenging topics. I suspect we'll talk about gun control, abortion, civil rights, and equitable access to essential civic services (I imagine my simply mentioning these topics has sparked a fight or flight response from some of you). And as disciples of Christ, as people following in the prophetic footsteps of those who came before, we will need to decide how we will approach these conversations. We can shut it down from the start with our harsh critique and unwillingness to hear a new story or experience, or we can be bold and open ourselves, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable to hearing something new. In our reading for today, we see Elijah and Elisha journeying through various places God moved with them in their ministry. I wonder what tales we could recount where we practiced the prophetic power of listening. Could we recount such moments where we practiced our prophetic walk?  

Our prophetic listening is not a discarding of our values. Instead, when we listen prophetically, we say we are open to seeing where the Spirit moves. Sometimes it means our opinions and beliefs change; sometimes it means we sure up what we believe in, and other times we walk away with more questions than answers. Our God will still be the same God; however, our perspective may shift over time. We know this to be true as God walked with the prophet Elijah (parting the waters) and prepared the way ahead for his protégé Elisha. I believe this is the big picture. God is with us. Our past shapes the future, and the only way we will arrive at where God leads us is by listening. Listening not to the voices of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, the Green Party, or any other organization with a partisan political agenda, but to each other, the stories of pain and joy we have to share, to the stories written on our hearts. 

Take a chance this summer and have a challenging conversation with someone you know doesn't share your viewpoint. Invite them into a discussion with these rules of mutual listening and sharing that places empathy above "winning." Believe me when I say these conversations aren't going to go away. In fact, they are only going to heat up, and I pray that you practice the prophetic gift of listening, trusting that the ever-evolving and steadfast presence of God will lead you in grace, humility, and a desire to expand your horizons.