Discernment: Listening for the Truth
Discernment: Listening for the Truth
September 25, 2022
Matthew 5: 1 - 12
Discernment is an interesting concept. The Bible – Old and New Testaments – has many references to it; I must have checked 100 or so. Sometimes a passage simply uses the word “discern” in the text. Other times, like in a description of the tasks of the Levitical Priests, discernment is identifying the difference between the holy and the common or it is distinguishing between the unclean and the clean.(Ezikiel 44:23)
The author of the book that we are studying, Dr. Diana Butler Bass, defined discernment as listening for the truth. And she reported that next to Hospitality – which we considered last Sunday, discernment was second most significant process or “signpost” in the fifty spiritually thriving churches that she studied. Therefore, this is a very important function for us to learn and practice as we prepare ourselves for Mt. Salem Church to begin growing in God’s grace and ministry.
Since this is not a word that we naturally attach to the ministry and mission of a church congregation, let me share a few of the biblical passages that I reviewed so that you can hear and begin to understand the significant role that discernment has played in our Judeo-Christian movement over the centuries. Then I will address briefly the three passages that Cathie read a few minutes ago that in one way or another address discernment. Finally, I will share brief insights into how some of the contemporary congregations have learned to do contemplation.
The first passage: Isaiah 7:15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.
1 Corinthians 2: 9-10 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” – these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
Psalm 119:125 I am your servant, give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!
Hosea 14:9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them, for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Philippians 1: 9-10 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
Romans 12: 2 Do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 But test everything; hold fast what is good.
Psalm 119:66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.
Philippians 1:9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.
Acts 17:11 Now these Jews (in Beroea) were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Proverbs 3:13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.
In the first reading printed in the bulletin, the LORD asks the newly inaugurated King Solomon what God should give him. You remember, Solomon asks, “Give your servant therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil.”
The LORD was pleased with his request and granted it as well as what most people would choose: riches and long life. And you remember one of the examples of King Solomon’s discernment:
Two women claimed to be the mother of the same baby. Solomon finally called for a soldier to cut the baby in half and to give half to each woman. He then discerned that the real mother was the one who offered the baby to the other woman so that he would not be killed.
Discernment, wisdom, understanding, and insight were the hallmark of King Solomon. That needs to be our hallmark, too. No, we would not gain the wisdom of Solomon, but God urges us to study and practice to gain discernment and understanding of the ways of God’s love and peace and forgiveness. The small biblical book of James says, 1:5“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him (or her) ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given her (or him).”
“Who is wise and understanding among you?” James askes in the second reading. And he provides a kind of test or authentication of that wise understanding, writing, “Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” A few verses later he writes, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” That is discernment; that is what we are to be learning and practicing. And James is not all talk and pretense; he says that we show the products of our discernment in our lives when our works or actions are done with gentleness that is born of wisdom, full of mercy, and producing good fruits. Discernment is one of the processes of spiritually thriving congregations; it is something that we need to be learning and practicing.
In the third printed reading, the opening of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provides us insights into discerning opportunities. He says, blessed are the poor, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those persecuted for righteousness, and those falsely reviled. People standing in these situations are able to discern God’s love and peace and forgiveness. They help us position ourselves to discern the meaning of God’s love and grace. They lead us into Jesus’ way of life.
Those are a number of ways that the biblical stories have approached discernment. And most of the times the process of discernment is not really addressed. We can guess or even try several guesses to see which ones work. The studied, spiritually thriving church congregations have talked about their processes of discernment. They give us insights into what will likely be our discerning practices.
These spiritually thriving churches suggest that our discernment will likely be approached through reflection and questions on scripture and on the events of our current societal situations. They suggest silent and spoken prayer – prayer through our biblical and social studies, prayers through individual and corporate meditation and even negotiation. The community of our church and even – in time – the community of our neighborhood is the locus for this discernment process.
We need to ask “God questions.” We ask what God is teaching us in scripture passages. We ask what God is suggesting, telling, calling, and/or commanding us to be and do. We need to listen carefully for God’s “inner wisdom,” for the thrust of God’s words and ways for us today.
We ask: Who are we? Whose we are? And who are we called to be? We ask What does God want us to do? We ask how can we be faithful to God’s call – to God’s call rather than to our own preferences?
Discernment helps us find our way into and through our journeys in faith. It involves serious reflection on scripture. It is grounded in prayer that takes many forms. It is informed by our experiences of God and of our experiences in our community. It is both deeply personal and entirely communal. Perhaps we can generalize discernment as theological reflection for decision making.
Discernment helps us and seekers determine what is best or right to do? It helps us identify what is goodness, what is truthfulness and what is beauty. It helps us look for where God is already working in our community so that we can join into God’s mission rather than fumbling with our own ideas.
Discernment is asking “God questions” instead of “I questions.” We change our focus from what we are doing or want to do to what is God doing. Then the question is where do we fit into God’s hope or dream for our Church, for our community, and for the world. These are theological, ethical, and critical questions and processes that engage us outside ourselves, into God’s plans or hopes or dreams for us.
Unlike the scientific method in its simplistic form that seeks to prove what we think and what we want to do and be, discernment involves self-criticism, questions, and risk. It often will re direct our lives.
Discernment is a process through which we will be “born again.” We will be “born” to new awarenesses of God’s truth, to new awarenesses of God’s beauty, and to new awarenesses of God’s love.
In practical terms, we will start by asking ourselves where we see or experience God in our Church’s program and ministry in general. And do we yet see God in everything that we do – individually and as a congregation.
Who are we? Whose are we? Where is God in our lives? Where is God in our Church? Where is God in our neighborhood?
These and similar questions will be the basis of our discernment as we look for truth, for love, for forgiveness, for peace. This is how we will search – discern – God’s dream for ourselves, for Mt. Salem Church, and for our neighborhood.
We need to learn and practice discernment. I pledge to help us do so. Together we will discern God’s will and way for Mt. Salem Church so that we can be faithful and true to our faith and to God’s dream for us.
Amen
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