Pastor's corner: Five questions for deeper listening of God

By the Rev. Jim Stender, St. Andrew Lutheran Church of Vancouver

We have announced a season of listening to God at St. Andrew, and just the mention of it has helped me to listen. Recently I listened better to the member who forgot how to pray; a homeless man asleep at our front door whose only request was for a box of cereal; and the dynamics in the relationship of a young couple planning a summer wedding. 

I have crafted five questions, one for each working day, to invite you to a deeper listening of God.

1. Am I mindful of God's presence in myself and others? At times it is difficult to see the inner light in others and ourselves. It is easier to condemn that console, blame than pardon, accuse than forgive. Our hearts can close up like clamshells. It takes a step of faith to see we are all God's children and to see more than meets the eye. It's the more that we listen for and look for.

2. Do I listen to everyone I meet as one who reflects the image of God? Listening to others is one of the best ways to show care and concern as Christ did. Sick people know the difference when a ruse touches them as if she were an inspector examining meat or with tender kindness. In a dehumanized worked, listening for the image of God in others restores our humanity and unity as one created in God's image.

3. Do I experience living in the present moment as a gift of God? I know that when life goes too fast, it is impossible to see anything or anyone in depth. I do not want to miss the details created by the Master Artist. If I fail to see the present moment as a gift, I may forfeit the best chance to receive love or imprint love on those I care most about.

4. Do I see the world as God's? Having a house has been a big step toward a sense of security and happiness for me and my family. But the sobering truth is that we are living on borrowed time and in rental property we will never own even after we make the final mortgage payment. I realize I am looking out of one small porthole among billions on a spaceship we call Earth. I pray that I may listen and look with the ears and eyes of a child to embrace all with awe and wonder of what God has created and owns.

5. Do I pray always giving thanks? Prayer is not only for special occasions. Prayer is not always making a catalog of requests. To pray unceasingly is to sense that my thirst for God is as great as God's thirst for me. Prayer is at the center of integrating who I am and what I do. But when I thank God for favors, promises fulfilled and hope yet to be realized, I move from fast to task with a small on my face and a song in my heart.

I want to be like "Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz," who celebrates life in a new world every day. Step by step I want to follow my own yellow brick road listening for directions. Every day I want to go to higher and deeper places of participation and prayer. I may not be wearing magic slippers, but I want to be responsive to every movement of the Spirit and listen to what I think is the music of eternity.