When Our Ears are Opened

This picture is well known, the story is not. It is the painting that was later used as the logo for the notorious company His Master's Voice. It was painted by Francis Barraud who painted his dog Nipper listening to a gramophone. In the original painting the dog was actually listening to a phonograph cylinder while seated on a coffin. The suggestion was that his master was inside. Barraud adopted Nipper when his brother died. He was fascinated when one day he saw how attentively Nipper was listening to the phonograph when he recognized the voice of his deceased master. Barraud painted the picture and later sold the copyright to Gramophone Company. It grew to one of the most successful logos in history and the brand name today is shared by various companies worldwide.

His Master's Voice's painting speaks to your heart. But long before, this image was already used by theologians to describe the relationship of Christians with their Lord. Calvin had already said:

"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet remained silent." (Inst. 4.16.21). Kohlbrugge also used the picture of a master and his dog surprisingly effective. In his commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism he gives this pithy explanation:

Question: What is the most thankful creature that God created?

Answer: The dog.

Question: How then will your thankfulness be manifested?

Answer: Therein, that I shall dwell with grace as a dog dwells with his master and always strive again towards this grace ... the dog crawls especially to his master when he gets chastised.

With this in mind, Karl Bark, I mean Barth, had once ammended the above by pointing out that the dog in Calvin not only humbly crawls to his master, but also should jump up, bark and bite when his master calls and commands.

The painting of Barraud reminds us that true interpretation begins when your Master is truly heard. That was exactly why the Protestants could celebrate the Reformation. it was a time when God's truth was heard once again - loud and clear.
The living voice of the gospel (viva vox evangelii) still resounds in many countries. Those whose ears are opened to hear the scriptures are liberated to also truly hear their own world. Effective believers in God's kingdom do not only hear God in his Word, but also learn to hear and to interpret this world so as to provide the right kind of balm for every specific wound...and to bark and and to bite when needed.

To genuinely hear is much more complicated than it looks the first time around. This is what learned people call the hermeneutical problem. In simple language, it means our struggle to understand and interpret correctly. Throughout the whole spectrum of life we are confronted by this dilemma. We have difficulty interpreting God's Word correctly. As scientists we are challenged to interpret our data and statistics accurately (because we are selective with the criteria that we use). Husband and wife struggle to interpet each other in marriage. Parents and children also have difficulty understanding one another. The congregation sometimes (often?) fails to understand the preacher. We can multiply these scenarios.

There is a longing within us all that others will really understand what we actually want to say. Granted, there are often various interpretive possibilities for any given statement. Just ask the judges in court. But they will also acknowledge that there are only so many interpetations that can really be defended. That is why we should talk - again and again until we are satisfied that we understand one another. We need each other in order to not suffocate in our own small worlds. We need one another to interpret all the thick layers of our issues. The words, "you don't hear me" challenge us to steer clear from wishfull-thinking-country where me and my interpretations rule. God and my neighbor want to be heard - in such a way that I am true to what they are saying.

And yet, this is our testimony and wonderful experience in God's world: We can hear one another indeed - even if it is normally accompanied by toil, but thankfully also by humor. It is therefore worth it to esteem highly such virtues as honesty, piety, and transparency when we open our ears. Nipper reminds us that it all begins with listening to the Master's voice.