My ability to hear has been decreasing. More people seem to be mumbling rather than talking. Last month, I purchased very expensive hearing aids. Hallelujah, I can hear again! My biggest problem has been letting go of the myth that wearing hearing aids means I’m getting old. I tell myself hearing aids are just like wearing glasses. I want to see clearly, and I want to hear clearly.

Jesus said, “Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.”(Mark 4:9) I’ve always thought of that statement in terms of people refusing to listen. Getting my hearing aids has given me a new perception. Sometimes, we have to accept the fact that, without reaching out a little, we just can’t hear the words of faith. We need to attend discussion groups on difficult topics or read books by writers who have opinions contrary to ours. As long as we keep plugging along with the same ideas and thoughts that we learned as children, we’ll never experience the joy of growing in our faith.

You may be finding it more and more difficult to understand the relevance of faith to your daily life. Maybe you’ve gradually become deaf to the comfort, guidance, and challenge of a life of faith. When we think we can’t afford the time required in learning something new, we close our ears and minds to the questions that trouble us. We’re afraid that new ideas might make faith old.

Jesus believed that the people of his time, particularly religious leaders, had become deaf to God’s message of love and forgiveness. His ideas were new. Jesus’ teachings and actions were the hearing aids of faith for his time. As people of faith today, we have to open our hearts and spend the time and energy to contemplate new ideas. Some we’ll accept. Some we won’t. For sure, we want our faith to be relevant. We want to hear well.