Day 25 - Walk with your ears

I have always had very good hearing, but not marvellous eyesight, so I tend to miss seeing things – and people; apologies if I have walked right past you. I’m not ignoring you deliberately!

But my ears and I have a great time. For example, my regular walk to the station for the train to London is full of life and interest. The other day, as I made my way along the rather nondescript road, thinking of nothing in particular, I gradually became aware of a bell ringing. My first thought was ‘If that’s a clock, I’ve missed my train!’. But then I realized that it wasn’t a sonorous clock chime from far off, but a soft sound coming from the building I was walking past.

Then my eyes got interested, and I noticed that the building was the Catholic Church, and the bell was probably signaling the elevation of the host as part of the eucharist, so there must be a service going on. There was a congregation worshipping on the other side of the stark grey brick wall.

No sooner had that ceased, than I heard an ambulance siren. Bedford has a wonderful hospital network, and the route to the station is also taken by the emergency services. Someone was being rushed to hospital.

Now, these sounds could have remained part of the background streetscape, along with the rumble of traffic going by, a set of roadworks that seem to be taking for ever, and people talking.

But my ears insisted that I pay attention to the bell, and the siren. I heard them as a call to prayer. As I walked past the Catholic Church, I prayed for the congregation inside: maybe a funeral mass, or a special service. God grant them blessing, comfort if they are mourning, joy if this is a celebration. Then the urgency of the ambulance called for a sharper prayer – for the person whose life had been disrupted by sudden illness or accident, and their family, for the paramedics rushing them to hospital, for the medical teams who would take charge at that point.

In this way, I can participate in the life of streets, by opening my heart to God as my ears pick up the sounds around me.

I have learnt to walk with my ears!

Cecily Taylor’s lovely hymn: ‘From the towns’ dusty clamour’ includes this verse.

When our spirits are deafened

by the world’s ceaseless din,

we can pause in the turmoil

seeking peace deep within. (© Stainer & Bell Ltd.)

Next time you walk down a busy street, let your ears call you to prayer for the people around you.

Prayer

Jesus, you were always attentive to people who cried out to you in need as you walked from place to place. Help us to walk with our ears open to the sounds around us, and our hearts ready to respond in prayer for the many people with whom we share our public spaces.

Amen

Janet Wootton