The Ernie Project no. 5

From binder no. 2

Dated 21 Jan 90

Hello from the Pastor (by Reverend Ernest Richter)

HARD OF HEARING

I’m sure you’ve heard about the wife who thought her husband was going deaf. She thought this because he never seemed to hear anything she said. Upon examination it was determined that he had what the doctor called, “husband’s hearing”. Husband’s hearing is a mysterious malady that afflicts a husband whenever his wife speaks to him. It seems that at that precise moment he goes stone deaf. He never hears a word she says. 

Well, that’s only one of a long list of afflictions that may hinder hearing. You would think that the most fragile organ in the body was the organ of hearing. Almost anything can knock it out. And the mystery of it is how this happens when there is nothing organically or functionally wrong with one’s ears. The special kind of deafness we’re talking about is not of the sort that can be relieved by a hearing aid. It goes deeper than that. It goes to the mind and the heart, for that’s where true hearing takes place. 

The ear receives the sound but the mind and heart comprehend it. They turn sound into meaning. They make for what we call, understanding. They have to be engaged in the communication process. If they aren’t functioning, there won’t be any hearing. The sound will go in one ear and out the other. You’ll have husband’s hearing. 

Jesus was addressing this problem in His parable of the Sower. It’s really the parable of “the Hearers.” The Sower, Jesus, does His job quite well. The seed, the Gospel, is perfectly suited to its purpose. It’s the soil, the hearing heart that’s the problem. Some hearts don’t hear at all. Some only hear what they want to hear. Others find the message crowded out by a cacophony of competing messengers! So you see, true hearing is hard even when you are not hard of hearing. -The End.