Oct. 26, 2005
"Uncle Andrew and Hearing"
Mark 4:1-25
One of the most intriguing parts of the book The Magician’s Nephew is Uncle Andrew’s inability to hear the animals talk. The children hear all the animals plainly speaking while all Uncle Andrew hears are animal noises.
"I must have imagined it. I've been lettin my nerves get out of order. Who ever heard of a lion singing? "And the longer and more beautifully the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.
The problem with Uncle Andrew’s hearing seems to be that he was trying to make himself believe that all he heard was roaring and as Lewis points out, the trouble with this is that you often succeed.
In the gospels, Jesus tells a similar story about a farmer scattering seed. Only a small portion of the seed actually produces a good crop. Jesus goes on to say that some people will see and not perceive and hear but not understand. Then, in Mark 4:23, Jesus gives us the key to being able to understand. He says, “Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand! Be sure to pay attention to what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand.” Understanding is not based on hearing facts; it is based on the perception of the listener. If we listen with a receptive mind, then we will hear the truth. If we mentally tune out what we are listening for, we will not understand.
"I must have imagined it. I've been lettin my nerves get out of order. Who ever heard of a lion singing? "And the longer and more beautifully the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.
The problem with Uncle Andrew’s hearing seems to be that he was trying to make himself believe that all he heard was roaring and as Lewis points out, the trouble with this is that you often succeed.
In the gospels, Jesus tells a similar story about a farmer scattering seed. Only a small portion of the seed actually produces a good crop. Jesus goes on to say that some people will see and not perceive and hear but not understand. Then, in Mark 4:23, Jesus gives us the key to being able to understand. He says, “Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand! Be sure to pay attention to what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand.” Understanding is not based on hearing facts; it is based on the perception of the listener. If we listen with a receptive mind, then we will hear the truth. If we mentally tune out what we are listening for, we will not understand.
Lewis goes on to say, "what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are."
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