April 29th

"He Who Has an Ear"

Hearing the Spirit in a Noisy Age

In our recent Bible Study, we explored the seven churches of Revelation—Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These were real Christian communities in first-century Asia Minor, living faithfully in the midst of cultural pressure, political tension, and spiritual distraction.

Across all seven letters, one-line repeats like a spiritual refrain:

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

This call to attentive listening is as urgent today as it was then.

When Hearing Becomes Difficult

On a personal level, hearing has become more challenging for me—not because I lack the desire to listen, but because of the physical realities of focus, fatigue, and tinnitus. It is a strange experience when the will to hear remains strong, but the ability becomes strained.

And I wonder whether something similar can happen to the church.

Just as tinnitus introduces a constant internal noise, the church can develop a kind of spiritual tinnitus—the noise of culture, anxiety, busyness, and competing voices that make it harder to hear the Spirit clearly. Not because we do not want to hear God, but because so many other sounds demand our attention.

Does This Speak to Us in Mennonite Church Alberta?

Revelation’s letters invite us to ask honest questions:

· Are we hearing the Spirit clearly in this season?

· Has the noise around us grown louder than the voice of God?

· Does the call, “If you have an ear, hear what the Spirit says,” still resonate with MCA?

These questions are inviting MCA to renewed attentiveness.

Areas of specific attention to Hear More Clearly

If the Spirit is calling MCA to sharpen its hearing, perhaps it is especially in the area of leadership. Revelation’s message to the churches consistently points toward renewal, resilience, and faithful witness—qualities that rise or fall with leadership.

Here are three suggested areas where “hearing better” matters deeply:

     1.  Hearing the Call to Grow Leaders

Mennonite Church Alberta needs to strengthen its commitment to raising up leaders who reflect the way of Jesus—leaders shaped by courage, compassion, clarity, and humility.

     2.  Hearing the Vision of Shared, Diverse, Spirit-Led Leadership

The future of MCA depends on leadership that is shared, diverse, Spirit-guided, and rooted in God’s mission—not merely in maintaining structures.

     3.  Hearing the Urgent Call to Identify, Form, and Sustain Leaders

In a rapidly changing world, one of the church’s most urgent tasks is to cultivate a culture of calling—recognizing gifts, mentoring emerging leaders, and sustaining them for lifelong discipleship and service.

This is not simply about filling roles. It is about shaping people.

A Final Word from Revelation

If we fail to hear God’s voice, we will inevitably hear other voices—voices of fear, convenience, or cultural pressure. Revelation reminds us that the church’s vitality depends on its ability to listen deeply and faithfully.

May we, as Mennonite Church Alberta, be a people who refuse to let spiritual noise drown out the Spirit’s leading. May we cultivate ears that hear what the Spirit is saying today. And may renewed hearing lead us into renewed leadership, mission, and faithfulness.

Nathaniel Bimba is Associate Pastor at Holyrood Mennonite Church in Edmonton.