Silence
/He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. -1Kings 19:11-13
In this well known passage, we find Elijah hiding in a cave on the side of a mountain. “What are you doing hiding here in this cave, Elijah?” God asks. Elijah answers, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
So God tells Elijah to come out to the mouth of the cave to talk. Suddenly there is rock splitting wind, and then an earthquake, followed by a fire, but Elijah somehow knows that, although the chaos outside the cave matches the fear and chaos he feels within, these awesome events are not the presence of God. It’s only when he hears the sound of sheer silence that Elijah ventures out of the cave.
Sometimes the noise of life can rule us. Worries, busy-ness and internal voices of self criticism can fill our lives with anxiety. Loud entertainment, advertising and the constant barrage of bad news can work us up into balls of stress. There are a variety of true crises that steal all our attention and there are the usual life demands that continually bite at our heels. yet, in the midst of all the noise of this life, there is something deeper, something very still, waiting for us to be able to hear and perceive the presence of God.
For the past week and a half, I’ve had no internet out in Stoddard, and there seems to be yet no sign of a repair person. It’s frustrating on a lot of levels, since my work requires the internet now more than ever! But I’ve noticed that without it, I’m not spending time scrolling facebook, or answering emails as they come in. I’m not watching TV or listening to podcasts. Most significantly, since I have no radio out there and get all my news from my online newspaper apps and NPR streaming, I have not been able to read or listen to the current headlines multiple times a day.
There’s been a highly noticible absence of a significant amount of background noise that I hadn’t even really notice before, and it has deepened my peace and has drawn me into more contemplative living. Although I have to drive into Keene just to send an email right now, I’m not really 100% sure I want the internet back…. This time of silence is connecting me to a deeper way of being day to day. Like in the story of Elijah at the mouth of the cave, I’m recognizing the presence of God in the sheer silence.
The noise of this life is a reality, however, and soon enough I will have the internet back. But after this experience, I’ll now hopefully be able to make some more informed choices about what I’ll listen to and when, and how often I’ll check my email or the headlines. It’s taken these few days of sheer silence for me to notice some areas in which I can actually make a choice about I allow the noise of the world in, and to ponder what God is showing me about how I spend my time.
Now, I’m not wishing an internet breakdown upon any of you, but I do hope that, like Elijah, you’ll be given the opportunity in one way or another to step into God’s silence this month, and notice how it draws you away from chaos and toward the presence of peace.
The readings for this Sunday are HERE. Ordinary time offers many readings to contemplate each Sunday. Track 1 will lead you through certain Old Testament books week by week more in depth. Track 2 provides an Old Testament text that is meant to compliment the Gospel of the week.
