Emphasis Preaching Journal

I was driving down the street the other day when I noticed that the car in front of me had one of those little dogs mounted in the back window. Its head would nod up and down whenever the car hit a bump. It looked like the dog was intently listening to someone, nodding in agreement to everything that was said. But, of course, the dog wasn't listening at all.

That little dog reminded me of nodding heads I've seen in other settings when I've wondered if anyone was really listening. During the service of holy baptism, parents and sponsors are asked, "Do you promise to bring this child to church and Sunday school? Will you teach this child to pray and to read the Bible?" The heads nod up and down. Junior high confirmation students listen to a lesson about how we have worth because we are children of God, not because of what we wear or how we do our hair. Their heads politely nod. Brides and grooms stand at the altar, willing to nod their heads to almost anything because they are so deeply in love. But are they listening? Will they truly love their partner in sickness and in health until death parts them? The heads nod.

Jesus must have seen lots of nodding heads in the crowds when he spoke these hard sayings about loving your enemies. But he knew that not everyone had ears to hear, and so he addressed his words "to you that listen ..."
- Kaul