God, we gather to hear your Word this morning. May this room serve as a place for silence and peace in an otherwise noisy world. We trust your promise, that in the silence, we will find your word planted in our hearts.
The Peace of the Lord be with you always!
(And also with you.)
[Begin reading Gospel during the commotion]
How many of you heard the Gospel being read just now, just now during the sharing of the peace?
Noise fills our lives. Sometimes it’s a joyful noise; sometimes it is the noise of the community; sometimes it is pure distraction. But, it is almost always present. Think of your routine. If you’re like me, you wake up to a jarring alarm clock. Then, you might have your most peaceful time of the day (unless you turn on the morning news!). You get your morning coffee, and pad around the house getting ready for the stress of the day.
What’s next? The morning commute, right? From the second we start our cars, we’re stuck in the storm of another wearying weekday. We have the radio on in the car, the noise of the road thrumming in our ears, the buzzing fluorescent lights of the office, phones ringing, colleagues knocking, a stressful commute home, cleaning the house, preparing dinner, and on and on and on.
Who has time for peace? For silence?
When we have a headache there are two common treatments. We can either take aspirin or….lie down. One treats the symptoms and one treats the cause. When we lie down in that dark, quiet room, we might not fully realize what we’re doing. We’re addressing our soul’s need for peace. Our minds and bodies beg for this daily.
This past week, I had a visitor in my office. He was looking for a new church home, and he had some very specific criteria. He wanted a traditional church, a church that was familiar with apocalyptic revelation and prepared to recognize signs of the end times; and, finally, he wanted a church that focused on the Bible and not all this “New Age Experience.”
In a sense, he makes a good point. Creating a religious “Experience” for the sake of experience alone is worthless. But, what does the Bible have to say about the human need to experience peace? Is there a legitimate need for Peace in the Christian lifestyle? (Peace as stillness, solitude, silence?)
Has God commanded and created us to find time away from the anxieties of this world? Does Christ set an intentional example for meaningfully meditating?
There are at least three common Bible stories that demonstrate the human need to create a time and space to experience peace.
“Be still and know…” (that I am God), from Psalm 46. This is a command from God. Stop! Listen! Realize!
How about the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10? Jesus comes to these sisters in their home, remember? And, Martha is scrambling all over preparing things and playing the role of the Good Hostess, while Mary simply sits and listens. Jesus tells Mary that she has wisely chosen how to spend her time.
Or, how about Jesus himself? We confess that Jesus is fully human and fully divine. Does even the Son of God need time away from the rat race?
Absolutely! On a recent Sunday morning, we heard the story of Jesus and the Syro-Phoenician woman with the possessed daughter. She begs Jesus to heal her daughter; but Jesus rebukes her sharply, saying that she is a dog unfit for the gifts intended for chosen children. Of course, things work out—Jesus’ heart turns to mercy, and he heals the daughter. But, why the initial aggravation? Well, the beginning of the story depicts Jesus attempting to “get away from it all.” He wanted his trip to this region to be a secret, and he enters this house to get away from watchful eyes. He seeks out silence and solitude.
Or, how about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane from Matthew 26? Jesus’ arrest, trial, and execution are coming and he knows it! That’s a little more stress than our morning commutes! So, what does Jesus Christ need at this pivotal moment in his life’s story?
He instructs his disciples to sit there, while he goes to a private, quiet place to simply “be”—and pray.
Is this so different from the harried mother who asks her children to “go play outside so I can lie down?” Or my father, who would plead with me during my rather rambunctious childhood to “Pipe down so I can hear myself think!” (He would also get so frustrated by my youthful energy that he would insist I was “Hyper than a kite!” As if I should just be hype.)
So, we have these four Biblical examples, and we have today’s lesson. In our reading for today, the author of Luke gives us a list of seven esteemed public leaders in ancient Israel. These men were movers and shakers; the business of the region transpired in their presence. Where they went, the action followed. And, then there was John.
John lived in the desert. Alone. The last action he saw was a tumbleweed racing a sandstorm.
And this is where the Word of God comes! Not to the royal halls of Pontius Pilate, not to the stately homes of Herod or his family, not even to the holy temples of Caiaphas and Annas!
It comes to the Desert! A place of stillness, solitude, and silence.
Where, how, and when will the Word of God come to you?
Can it reach you during the distraction of the day? Do we let ourselves listen when our inboxes are inundated?
Do you see the difference between John and Herrod, or John and Pontius Pilate? Is it that God loves John more? Or that the Word is only for John and no one else? Not at all! The Word of God came to a place and a person who had space to receive it.
I am reminded of the Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13. Do you remember? The “Farmer” sows his seeds on the path, in the thorny weeds, and on the good soil. The seeds sown on the path and in the weeds have no chance, but the seed in the good soil bears good fruit. And the parable ends with Jesus saying, “Those who have ears, let them hear!”
The Farmer is God; the Seed is the Word. Look how God freely throws his Word around! He just lets it fly; he is NOT concerned about targeting the “Good Soil.”
And what is the parable telling us? When are we the “Good Soil?” It’s not when we are supremely holy, or when we live without Sin. These things are impossible! Instead, the Word takes root in our hearts when we simply…Hear. “Let all those who have ears Hear!”
So the Bible gives us examples of “silence-seekers,” and here we have the benefit of this all-too-rare experience described. It is when we steal away for those brief experiences of silence that God’s Word can ring so loudly.
As Pastor Scott prays before preaching, “God, silence every voice but your own, that in hearing we may believe, and in believing we may obey.”
And when we find that space away from bustling commutes, buzzing offices, and busy home-lives, what does God’s Word speak to us?
It says: “I am sending you my Son, and he brings you Life.”
It says: “You are called to prepare the world to hear what you are hearing.”
It says: “My promises never die, and they are made for you.”
“God, give us time each day to silence every voice but your own, that in hearing we may believe, and in believing we may obey for the sake of your son Jesus Christ our Lord.” Amen
Intern Mark Dixon