Silence

 

Silence
-Uncomfortable and restorative. 
-Maddening and reflective. 
-The Devil’s workshop and the presence of God.

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         Elijah took an incredible journey to get to Horeb.

         Elijah confronted the prophets of Ba’al, 
ran at an impossible super-hero pace, 
was fed by angels under a broom tree, 
and then hides himself in a cave at Mount Horeb… 
more commonly known as Mt. Sinai, 
where Moses too encountered God.

         And God is kind of confused by Elijah’s presence there. 
“What are you doing here, Elijah?” God asks.

         And Elijah gets defensive, “I’m being super zealous, on your behalf.” 
“I alone am still faithful.”

 

         Elijah is understandably overwhelmed by the loud and devastating power of his King and Queen, 
the whole jangling royal court 
are arrayed against him.

         But God needs Elijah to know that he is not alone
—always God is with him…

         And more than that, while Lord and King, 
Not to mention words like Almighty and All-powerful 
–might be ways to talk about God, 
they do not get at God’s essence
—these descriptors and experiences, are not God.

         Elijah encounters God, 
but God is not in the tattered flapping and harsh tearing, 
of a terrible wind.

         Elijah encounters God, 
but God is not in the calamitous clangor and world spinning shaking of the earthquake.

 

         Elijah encounters God, 

but God is not in the roaring lapping of flame and fire
—you’ve seen Hawaii burning this week
—while insurance companies might call that an act of God
—that is not how God acts… 
God is not in the flame!

         Elijah encounters God in 
a still small voice, 
sheer silence, 
the sound of fine silence.

         The God who is the God of Sinai, 
the God of the Prophets, 
the God of Wisdom, 
the God who we can honestly call God… 
is encountered in tender quiet. 

 

         That is the God who asks a second time, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

         “I alone am left.”

         But you aren’t alone Elijah, 
there are the 7,000, 
and other prophets, 
and even other kings both foreign and domestic… 
You see one, but there are 7,000.

 

         Now I can appreciate how Elijah is feeling
—this week I helped 42 people as Pastor of Spruce Run…
I say that not to brag, 
but instead to remind myself!
when I fixate on the 2 people I was unable to help this week.

         The noise of those two failures is loud enough to drown out those 42 successes.

         The noise of 1 prophet escaped from death, 
can drown out 7,000 faithful colleagues and friends.

         In the silence of this cave in Horeb
—where the commands of God were received by Moses, 
Elijah encounters God as God is, 
and is sent out to find fellowship among the other faithful.

 

Silence

-

         Jesus has been seeking silence, 
a quiet place to be in prayer, 
communion with his father and our Father. 
He’s been going nonstop since his cousin, John, was killed.

         He tried to escape to a deserted place, and instead fed 5,000.

         He finally takes a moment, praying until evening
—a little time away.

 

         It’s worth repeating what I just said. 
Jesus, 
God’s beloved Son, Our Lord, 
took time to rest and pray, 
to mourn for John,
to be by himself, 
so that he is with the LORD.

         If rest is good enough for Jesus… 
it is certainly good enough for us
Be gentle with yourself, as the Lord was gentle with himself.

 

Silence

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         Then there is Peter
—always doing the faith two step
—forward and back, 
all in followed by “Hey! Wait a minute!”

         Peter's faith is shaken by a strong wind.

         Shaken by the terror of it.

         Shaken because walking on water isn’t a natural kind of thing.

 

         So, if your faith is shaken. 
If you find yourself sinking or scared, 

The weight of the world is heavy on your shoulders
life has given you plenty of body blows and it is too much,
know that you’re in good company…
Peter, the Rock of the Faithful, the Apostle par excellence 

Can do nothing other than shout, “Lord, save me!”
         Peter’s grand devotion
“command me to walk on water!”
Shrinks to a manageable, 
“Lord! ‘elp me!”

 

         And that’s enough, 
enough for him 
and enough for us.

         After all, we’re in Matthew’s Gospel
—the Mustard Seed Gospel
—the Gospel that can’t let go of that parable of Jesus
—the Gospel that rides the image of that small weed welcoming a flock of birds into a farmer’s field 
Rides that parable, for all 28 chapters!
–that parable is fused into Matthew’s DNA.

 

         If a small faith is all that you can muster
—and for most of us it is… 
that’s enough!

         God doesn’t ask us to walk on water or save the world.

         No, that’s Jesus’ job. 
He’s here with us in the storm.

Dragging us into the boat like we’re drowned kittens, 
still wet from baptism.

Drags us into the silence of a storm ceased…

         Our Lord is present with us.

 

         Present with us, 
and presenting us with a promise—the Gospel!

         You see, Matthew has done something clever with his account of Jesus walking on water. 
He’s retold the Gospel
—Death and Resurrection. 
         -Jesus prays alone on the mountain—like Calvary.
         -Jesus disappears at evening, leaving the Disciples fending for themselves, afraid.
         -Early the next morning, he comes among them—like Emmaus or the Sea Shore.
         -They think him a ghost, but then their fears are silenced and they call him Lord, and worship him.

 

Silence

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         The God of the Still Small Voice, always reminding us we’re not alone.

         The God who embraces us in our mourning and is rest for our weary bones.

         The God of a mustard seed and resurrection from the dead.

         That God is present with us and:
-the little, are mighty, 
-there is faith, in the midst of doubt,
-Save me, Lord! becomes a confession,
-The Sinking, are uplifted,
-The lonely faithful, find a multitude.

Amen.