Avoiding Dull Hearts
Jesus's words come with warning and hope.
What does a dull heart look like? Often dull means old and boring. But it also means lacking life, something that was once full of energy and purpose now losing its edge and vitality. So a dull heart is one that is no longer responsive to God’s presence, numbed by comfort, fatigue, or fear.
What dulls the heart these days?
We can be sure that some of the same things that dulled hearts in first-century Galilee dulls hearts today - the overuse or an overdependence on substances like alcohol or the anxieties that come with the uncertainties of life if we let them. But there are others too, right? A dullness of heart can refer to a lack of the ability to respond to the situations of life, particularly those right around us. Paying attention to the larger problems of the world has a way of making us think we can’t do anything about what’s right around us.
Or maybe dullness simply looks like not noticing anymore. This is what Jesus is talking about. His warning to not let our hearts be dulled is said in the context of not being able to recognize the signs of the times. Even the hope of new leaves on a spring tree.
Hope.
These things are too often seen as fodder for the distraught. Look out, a warning for difficulty. And there is some of that. But in this parable, Jesus is talking about the hope of new life and possibility.
Don’t be dulled and miss it - hope within the destruction.
Luke 21:29-38
Jesus told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that God’s kingdom is near. I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until everything has happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.
“Take care that your hearts aren’t dulled by drinking parties, drunkenness, and the anxieties of day-to-day life. Don’t let that day fall upon you unexpectedly, like a trap. It will come upon everyone who lives on the face of the whole earth. Stay alert at all times, praying that you are strong enough to escape everything that is about to happen and to stand before the Human One.”
Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, but he spent each night on the Mount of Olives. All the people rose early in the morning to hear him in the temple area.
Psalm 27:13-14
But I have sure faith that I will experience the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! Hope in the Lord! Be strong! Let your heart take courage! Hope in the Lord!
Prayer
God,
As I go through this day, help me to see things around me with both reality and hope. Give me eyes to see the situations in which I’m participating, acknowledging their particularities, but with a heart firmly focused in the things of your kingdom.
By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amem.