Greyson Clamp: Hearing Beyond Words

Greyson Clamp hears his father's voice for the first time

"I Love You!"  

Imagine the first words heard are "I love you?"  That was true for all of us when we were born.  The words were said in many ways--we just did not understand them.  Like Greyson Clamp with his new implant, we were "sound aware"--but did not understand the words literally.  Only later on would we put together the literal content with the meaning that we had already experienced.  So Greyson was not handicapped, really...because he got the message of love without being "sound aware."  That is not to take one iota away from the miracle of hearing because of modern science.  Let's just remember what is most important--that we get the message of love.  And I suppose that we also give that message in ways beyond words.

All too often I hear parents say--"I am not going to baptize my child until s/he understands.  I will not give Communion until s/he understands."  Only really?  The literal content is the way we understand each other and God?  Or is it in the experience of being loved that we understand at any age?  How painful to see a baby "fail to thrive" because of the lack of human contact, or the inability to access it through some physical disorder.  So too remember the lesson of Jesus as the WORD of God, speaking love through his life beyond any literal content.