I’m sorry did you say something?
Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
Imagine a world where someone listened so intently to all your spoken words. What if you were to just say something like: “Blah, blah, blah,” and they looked at you like you had the wisdom of Solomon? What if you had one of those really bad days where everything seemed to go wrong and no one would even give you the time of day and you came across this person who just sat there listening to you as you whined and you just sensed they felt your pain? One of the best I’ve ever known at this was Tucker, a sweet little dog we use to have.
The world can act so harshly when someone appears different, especially when the difference is something that makes you appear deformed. It must especially be hard when you’re young and tact is alien to the environment that surrounds you. Throwing stones at you would probably hurt less than the words pitched from your playmates direction. No one will ever know if anything like this ever happened to the man who had a resume that would lead many to claim he was the one of the most qualified to ever reside in the White House. But my guess is the cruelty of peers was no different back then as it is now.
So how does one arise to such great heights when the mocking seems to follow you around like a shadow? Life is full of cruel and unfair twist and turns. As we age we learn life isn’t full of burdens, it’s full of blessings badly dressed. That lost job becomes a new and better career. That dark moment when a close friend or family member take their last breath lead us to appreciate every single moment around those close to us. Financial ruin leads us to a greater understanding of what we really “need.” And the list could go on and on and on. It’s never easy when you go through it and very few would ever want to live it again, but its lessons last a lifetime.
Let’s get back to our President. He would grow up to become a tall, blond haired, blue eyed man that would transform that “defect” into an advantage. You see, this man had a “defect” in one of his eyes. The defect caused him to lower his brow of that bad eye and tilt his head forward to focus with his “good eye.” As a young kid this was probably a curse, but as an adult it gave the person in front of him the illusion that he was intently listening to their every word. It is said that very few, if any, ever had a bad first impression of him. He grew to such heights, not because he actually listened, but because he appeared to listen and appeared to listen well. Wow! Can you imagine what he would have been like if he did actually listen?
It reminds me of a story of one of God’s prophets. Every little kid who has ever heard a Bible story has heard of him. Yet his story is actually told in only a four chapter book of the Bible. He is, though, mentioned in three other books of the Bible. He is even mentioned by Jesus. What kids remember about him is the fact he was swallowed by a whale, although the Bible doesn’t actually call it a whale; it calls it a big fish. That sounds like it might have been the size of one of those fish I’ve caught, at least from the stories I tell of it. One whole chapter (Jonah 2) is devoted to a prayer by Jonah while he is in this big fish. But the real story of Jonah is about him not listening. What got him in the fish in the first place was that he was going in the opposite direction God told him to go. Then, after he got out of the fish, he didn’t listen to what God wanted either. God didn’t want revenge, He wanted repentance. When the people did repent, Jonah got mad because he knew God wasn’t going to destroy them because God was so kind hearted. And God didn’t destroy them, or at least not for another 100 years.
The book of Jonah ends leaving the reader wondering what Jonah might have thought. It ends with a question to Jonah from God: “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? (Jonah 4:11 KJV)” God talked to Jonah and I’m sure Jonah was attentive, but did Jonah listen? Other than writing this book (or least he is given credit for writing this book), we don’t hear from him again.
Sometimes after a busy, tiring day all you want to do is sit in front of the TV and tone out the world. Sometimes you have so many thoughts filling your brain with all the things you need to get done. Sometimes if you get one more request of your time you think you are going to explode. All you want is a little time to do nothing and to be nothing. But there is dinner, homework, assignments, and a host of other things keeping you from your break. Listening, well, that’s probably the last thing you want to do.
The man, who was one of the first to volunteer for the War of 1812, would serve his state as a Representative, be Minister to Russia, become a US Senator, serve as Secretary of State, and become Minister to Great Britain before he glided into the role of President. Sitting right behind Abraham Lincoln in Presidential order was our “Listening President:” James Buchanan. Most historians rank him as one of the worst Presidents the United States has ever had. James Buchanan had the answer. It was right there in front of him: listen more. As he left office, states were leaving the union and we moved closer to the Civil War. I guess listening also requires some participation and attention even when it’s not easy to do.
