This Sunday’s lectionary passages are:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 / Psalm 119:1-8 / 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 / Matthew 5:21-37

“You have heard it said… but I say to you…” – Matthew 5

I have been accused of selective hearing my whole life. First it was my mother, then my wife and now, all my children have joined the bandwagon! To their credit, my actions have demonstrated that their accusations are not false.

I don’t think they wish I was less selective in my hearing. I think they wish my hearing would select what they are saying above anything else. To the people I care for most, this seems fair. After all, Fred Rogers did say, “Listening is where love begins…”

When Jesus preaches what we call “the Sermon on the Mount,” he is, by his words, shaping what his kingdom reality looks like. The first question for those listening “on the mount,” and those of us listening to his words today, is whether or not we will hear what he is saying.

In Matthew 5:21, Jesus brings clarification to what God desires from, and for, his children. He draws attention to the way his listeners have heard interpretations of the law and then follows that up with a new way of looking at what they’ve heard. In one sense, Jesus provokes a greater hearing.

With topics such as anger, lust, personhood, and promises, Jesus is addressing the ways we treat one another and what we take from one another. These are all things that reveal the nature of our heart. 

My intention is not to dive into those topics but to draw attention to the call to hear his voice on these matters. If we receive his words rightly, our hearing will affect the condition of our hearts.

The text in Deuteronomy is a very Deuteronomy-ish text. It’s Moses laying out what God desires for his people and the choice they have to either obey his commands and prosper, or disobey them and perish. It’s very straightforward—almost too straightforward. I say that because we know that life is not that simple. (Just read Ecclesiastes if you need the Bible to tell you so.) 

But there is a connection to this theme of selective hearing and hearing rightly.

After laying out the possibility of blessing, Moses warns the people by saying, “But if your heart turns away and you do not hear…” (Vs 17). 

If the sermon of Jesus reminds us that right hearing produces right hearts, the sermon of Moses reminds us that hearing rightly is dependent upon what our hearts want to be right in the world around us. 

Another way of saying it is like this. Our hearing rightly depends upon having a heart that desires what is right. A heart that longs for righteousness. 

Listen to what the Psalmist says in the Psalm for the day:

“I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn (hear and receive) your righteous laws.” – Psalm 119:7

Do you see the connection? Our heart and our hearing go hand in hand. 

In order for us to hear Jesus rightly, we must be willing for God’s Spirit to work on our hearts. And heart operations are necessary for good hearing. 

Sometimes we aren’t ready for the operation, and that’s ok. We are in process. But what that means is that we aren’t always ready to hear either. 

As Paul says in the Corinthians text: 

“Brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food.” – 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

Paul could not speak to the Corinthian church in a way he desired because they were not ready to hear him rightly. The unrighteous division in the church was a condition of their hearts; preventing them from being ready to hear.

Hearing rightly depends upon having a heart that desires what is right. A heart that longs for righteousness.

Two quick observations on this:

1) When it comes to our hearing, we must be willing to keep listening to Jesus. If we consider what he does in bringing about righteousness through love and justice, I believe our hearing will improve.

2) When it comes to our hearts, we must be open to the possibility that Jesus is not done speaking to us. He has something to say to us today. Just as he does in the sermon on the mount, he can bring greater clarification to what he desires.

Sometimes I wonder if we believe that Jesus’ sermon stopped on the mountain. We know it has application for our lives but forget that Jesus is still talking to us today.

What Jesus said then is what God has always been saying and I believe that God is still trying to get our attention. Still trying to help us get past our own understandings. I believe the Spirit can say, even now, “You have heard it said… but I say to you…”

The question is, are we willing to hear his words in the reality of today?

Our hearts still need surgery and our hearing still needs checked. Are we listening when Jesus speaks?

Let the following words be the reminder to have selective hearing:

“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says…”