II Peter 1:18-19a — We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place.
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If we believe in God at all, it would be only logical for us to wonder what it is God might expect of us, what God wants from us, and what God desires us to do or to believe. Well, says Peter, what God wants from us is our attention— he wants us to pay attention to Him and His Word.
A vast majority of the world’s people do believe there is a God. By definition, God is all powerful. He holds all the cards. You are here because he put you here. If he so chooses, God can decide how long you will stay here. And, if there is to be anything else for you after your brief life here ends, it will be up to God to provide that something else. When your heart stops beating and you are dead, there is nothing you can do about what comes next. After that, it is all up to God.
One would think, therefore, that nobody would have to be told that they need to pay attention to God (that is, unless they do not believe in God at all). One would think that fragile, frail, temporary human beings would most certainly want to do that. Your life can be ended any time by something so small as a germ or so ordinary as a mistake on the highway– and then what? Or as the Lord said through Jeremiah to a long-ago inattentive people (chapter 5 summarized; and then verse 31b): “You ignore and disobey me, you live by lies and do not fear me. You think no harm can ever come to you; But what will you do in the end?” God makes it very clear in the Bible that we should be looking to him while we have the chance. It would only seem natural that we would want to be paying attention to God– not to mention also honoring, loving, serving, and obeying God. That all should be a part of it. But first we have to pay attention, or we won’t ever get around to any of the rest. Even if only out of mere self-interest, one would think everyone would want to listen to whatever God has to say.
Imagine yourself on an airplane and there is a storm outside. The lightning is flashing and the wind is buffeting the plane and the ride is bumpy. You fly often, but you have never seen it this bad. Even the flight attendants look nervous. Then, you hear the pilot on the intercom. He says, “May I have your attention, please?”
What will you do? I know what you will do. You will pay attention… won’t you? You will want to know what he has to say, because with all his gauges and experience and radio contact with those on the ground, he knows MUCH more about the situation than you can know just looking out the window. So, you want to listen close. Perhaps he has good news. He might say, “Everything is under control, folks, and we will soon be out of this storm.” Then, you will be able to relax. But perhaps there will be bad news. He might say, “Our plane has just sustained significant damage and we are looking for a place to make an emergency landing. The flight attendants will instruct you on how to prepare for a rough landing and a fast exit from the plane once we are on the ground.” Now you will be paying very close attention, because this may be a matter of life or death. You may not have listened to the flights attendant’s boring pre-flight instructions on what to do in case of an emergency. But with a dangerous storm outside, you will be listening now.
Are you in a storm? Life has many storms that are always threatening us—financial insecurity, dangers to health, painful relationships, issues at work, and accidents, to name a few. In the middle of such storms, in the middle of all of life, God is always saying to you, “May I have your attention, please?” And you need to listen. This is even more important than life and death. It is the most important thing in the world, because what God wants to tell you is even bigger than this whole world, bigger than this entire life. It transcends life and death, because it has to do with your eternal destiny somewhere else.
Let’s go back to the airplane illustration. Imagine there is someone sitting next to you who is not paying attention. She is paying no attention to the storm, and has not heard the pilot’s announcement, because she is distracted. Her eyes are closed and her ears are covered by headphones playing loud music. If that is the case, and the news is bad, you will want to tap her on the shoulder and tell her to pay attention to the flight attendant’s emergency instructions.
That is what I am doing right now. I am tapping you on the shoulder, encouraging you to pay attention, just in case you are not already tuned in; just in case there is something else distracting you. Everyone needs to know this.
One time Jesus told his listeners a little story in an attempt to get them to pay attention to what he was trying to teach them about the kingdom of God, now and forever. It is in Luke 12:16-21:
(Jesus) told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ (And then Jesus said to the people), “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves, but is not rich toward God.”
Jesus called that man a fool. Why? Because he wasn’t paying attention to God, or as Jesus put it, he was “not rich toward God.” He had everything for this life, and was all set to take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry. He was ready to settle down and enjoy the retirement he had worked so hard to prepare for. But as you know, retirement lasts only so long, even for those who are fortunate enough to get many years of it. For that man, it all ended that very night, and he was not prepared for what came next.
Don’t be a fool. Don’t be like that man. Don’t be like a silly child who, when given the choice between and an ice cream cone right now, or $5,000 tomorrow, takes the ice cream cone. Think of the parable of the rich fool as a word from Jesus to you right now, saying; “May I have your attention, please?”
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Almighty God, you pour out your spirit and grace on all who desire it. Deliver us, when we draw near unto you, from cold hearts and wandering thoughts, so that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections we may worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Book of Common Prayer
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