Good Morning Friends,
There is a time when human words and mortal flesh get in the way of God’s plan. Today’s scripture relates to this challenge for us. And we get a sense of it in the rhythm of some secular songs as well as Christmas hymns, and particularly, I think in Ralph Von Williams’ music, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent:
Herein is a life lesson to learn. There is not a lot we can say in our own defense unless God is tabernacle in us, built in us block by block, thought upon thought on the Cornerstone of Christ. God’s ways are not our ways in how this works. And part of the mystery and the drama of it is that we are in the season that is even now moving from the stillness of Oh Little Town of Bethlehem and Silent Night to the power of Go Tell It On the Mountain and Hark The Angels Sing. But we have a challenge in experiencing God on the journey if we keep listening to our own babble or worse yet all the trending trash. So, Will We Recognize The Power Of the Sound Of Silence?
Scripture: Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.” But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.
2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 (NRSV)
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.” Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak.
Luke 1:13-22 (NRSV)
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Luke 1:67-79 (NRSV)
But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him!
Habakkuk 2:20 (NRSV)
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NRSV)
Message: As I am in my own mind writing this morning and thinking about the scripture of the day, I am starting to realize something about the sounds of silence in it. You see, silence can be like sealed thoughts within the core of our being that develops in our subconsciousness like seeds and gives us the ideals we accept without knowing or even hearing exactly what it is that prompts our action. And yet that place of silence is what gives direction to my life’s journey and yours too. Without these ideals formed there, our natural aimlessness would lead us nowhere good. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to consume and be consumed under the light of a false light programed by mass media, for it diverts our attention from the real misery and for a time we do not deal with the reality that ignoring the issues might bring pain to others. Friends, there are consequences for embracing a diversion from our real problems. For the noise here can influence what ideals we still have left. In my daily life in service, I see the darkness in the society around me and perhaps you do too. I see a lot of people talk, and a lot of people without having anything of value to say. They may hear and speak but do not care even when confronted with something meaningful that needs to be shared about how to live. Maybe we have become a bit jaded or worse drowned in the whirlpool of information age not willing to challenge something that never sleeps and has become like God to so many. Christians, we need to act for what we believe and disturb the silence with a song that reflects the praise of God. We are as fools if we do not realize our mindlessness will only grow worse. Consider the words of the Bible and learn. If we do not shut ourselves in, we can feel the Spirit reaching us with the truth. Silence in the presence of God is one thing but silence in the face of evil is another. My words may get lost in the storm of the information age, but God’s words live on. Take this to heart. We can all to easily worship a false God and especially the ones we have created. The Bible is filled with warnings about this. The age of information and entertainment is forming us and might well be convincing us, while the good way of life is all around us whispering to our subconsciousness of a reality to come.
And maybe this is not all bad. For
God is never really absent from history, but we may not be cognizant of what is happening and why. Our experience of the world may be flat… our experience of God may from time to time be distant or silent but maybe that is just how we perceive it because we have not gone to the mountain top to see the curve of the earth and the splendor of God’s creation in us. Regardless, sometimes there is a spiritual reality that we just do not see. For if we live long enough friends, we experience the wilderness as well as the mountaintop. And maybe we begin to appreciate that still small voice. The hope is that in the silence, and even as we experience God’s absence, we might also be experiencing a feeling that serves a purpose. So, we may wonder why the silence of Zechariah. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke, we have a breaking of nine months of Zachariah’s silence so something might be birthed in him and not just his wife. Here the father of John the Baptist shares a song known as “Zechariah’s Benedictus”. And it is joyous. Now, perhaps you have experienced a season of silent suffering and been tempted to believe that God is not able to change the situation. But maybe there is a purpose in the silence that has to do with absence making the heart grow fonder. That is what happened to Zechariah. And the case of Zechariah is also to be a guide for the nation of Israel and those who have fallen away from the faith. Friends, deprivation can draw out and heighten a desire that prepares us to face our lack of faith and trust in God. Perhaps the story of Zechariah prepares us for the profound stillness of that first Christmas Eve and guides and prepares us how to proclaim the joy from the mountaintops.
And So, maybe we do not have much of a choice in the matter when it comes to experiencing the presence of God with us. But I tell you that this year many would prefer a less silent night. Perhaps our own disbelief prompts an experience of silence that has a purpose as we mask up and maintain social distance. For God knows that our lives typically move from noise to noise this time of year. And maybe that is why we are given the gift of silence and in time learn from it that it is not really punishment. As we listen to Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, and a priest, we realize that his story is worth hearing in helping us move from silence and disbelief to greater faith and praise. Friends, the very Word of God, the Son of God made manifest… that choirs will sing about with loud anthems… will have to wait. Maybe like Zechariah we collectively may need a time of silence to prepare us. Maybe we will not have an angel shutting our mouth or touching our spirit but maybe we get something even better this time of year in a moment of silence that brings us closer to God and prepares us for the time when we collectively will sing with joy. But even then, we realize that we might be more satisfied in the anticipation than its achievement. Friends, the reality is that we are not designed to be satisfied with what we receive this season so much as in the Kingdom to come. Indeed, we live in the age of information and entertainment where computers project what we are to anticipate. We see dimly. The paradox is that what satisfies us most in this age is not what we receive, but what we are promised. The chase is better than the catch here. So, enjoy the silence in anticipation of something even better that might just surprise us.
Pray we realize that even during the holidays that some people will experience a chaos that careens through their lives and shatters their world and gives them the experience of God’s absence. Pray therefor this season for people who experience an unrelenting darkness descending on them that they would like to exclude from their reality. Pray for people who experience an arid wind that blows across their spiritual landscape leaving the crust of their soul cracked and parched. Pray quietly for those who cry to God in their confused anguish. Pray for those who experience God as silent and absent. Pray for a time when the power of God’s perceived silence breaks forth into song. Pray we realize that we are called to trust God’s promise to always be with us more than just be engaged in perceiving the feelings of the moment. Pray we learn when to speak up and when to keep silent. Pray we appreciate the silent preparation needed to help us to listen to and trust in the unfolding of the incarnation of Christ even though it is beyond our understanding. Pray we listen for the joy of God’s comfort. Pray when the time fully comes our voice humbly glorifies God because God is with us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 