TALK and no listen...

He was a BIG man...
the entire back of his
shirt filled with BIG letters:
GO BIG
or
GO HOME.

I had gathered with two others
at a table
in the corner
near a window.

We were sipping coffee
talking about
our pasts,
our children,
our hurtful experiences
with the conservative side of the church...
the very conservative
side of the church...
the part of the church
who thinks and speaks
only in black or white,
live or die,
heaven or hell terms.

We weren't talking loudly.
We were sharing very personal information
about our children and our experiences.

Though we were in a public place
we were being private,
respectful,
mindful of our conversation.

All the sudden in the
middle of one of our sentences
he turned around
literally six inches from my face.
He interrupted.

He didn't say, "Excuse me."
He didn't say, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to over hear...."
He didn't ask if he could speak to us
he simply opened his mouth and began
pontificating.

I interrupted him saying,
"We didn't come here to talk with him."
He blasted,
"Oh, I know I just have to share with you
what I share with my students."

And yet we were not
his students
nor were
we willing recipients!

He went on to define sin and
spoke in that "infallible" tone
patronizing,
belittling,
arrogant
rude.

I tried to interrupt again
to tell him we really
just wanted this time to talk together
and were not....

He wouldn't have it.
He was BIG
and he was loud
and he was in our face.

When he had finished speaking he turned around.
He didn't thank us for listening.
He didn't say anything
he turned around
because in his mind he had set us straight.

This is the problem...
Christians who believe living faith
is about
TALKING
and not listening.

The Big man
had no intention
of listening to a word we had to say
except the ones
he literally listened too
behind our backs.

He spoke.
He did not listen.

We speak
and do not listen.

We speak
and talk and
whisper
and shout...
and
forget
that it is
God's Word
to be heard.

Jesus stopped,
listened
and loved.

Until we do the same
the church will
continue to be
"deathly ill"
as some have come to define it.

Whatever
ailment the church has
the only way to
healing and peace
is by creating the space
to listen fully
to the stories
of the people
who have been silenced
and continue to be silenced.