Be Silent

 

Scripture

 Zephaniah 1:7

Be silent before the Lord God!
    For the day of the Lord is at hand;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
    he has consecrated his guests.  (NRSV)

 

Devotion

I am a lover of joyful noises.  I enjoy having good conversations with people I run into and carefully curating different online music "stations" that suit my different moods.  I'm even likely to break into a smiles whenever I hear the sounds of hammering, shoveling, or other good work being done...specifically if I know that work will benefit others.  Still, there are times when I find myself distressed by just how loud the world is.  Amongst all the distractions and noisiness of human existence, it can be heard to "hear" the voice of God.

 The distractions of our noisy world are exactly why taking time for silence can be so important.  Brett and Kate McKay call silence one of "the most intriguing and  the most intriguing and compelling of the spiritual disciplines, and yet also...the hardest to come by in our crowded, noisy, modern world." When folks list silence as a spiritual discipline, they  mean more than just removing physical noise from our lives.  They are referring to the attempt to remove all human-created stimuli and distractions from our lives in order to make room for our hearts, minds, and souls to "hear" the Spirit speak.  

Engaging in this kind of silence takes commitment.  It asks us to:

• Put away our work;
• Close our books;
• Turn off the TV, radio, etc.
  
• Silent our phones and our computers notifications;
• Still our racing minds...and perhaps our bodies as well;
• Quiet our own mouths.
• Acknowledge that we are in the presence of the LORD.
  

This kind of silence can be particularly meaningful as we enter into the Easter Triduum (the three days of prayer that begin on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reach their climax during Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, and then conclude with evening prayer on Easter).  During these three days we contemplate the great and terrible mystery of Christ's sacrifice.  And as we move through that time, we are tempted to say all kinds of things that help us frame and make sense of Christ's Passion..  We want words that can help us make sense of what is happening...or that can alleviate our guilt...or that can distract us from the painful glory of the cross.  Words that put Christ's Passion in a nice, safe box for us.

Anything we can say, though, cannot compare to what Jesus's words and actions are already telling us.  And on Holy Saturday, even the Gospel writers fall silent.  And in that Holy Silence, our souls grapple with God's promise that though we have killed our Savior, the story is not over.  Christ is mysteriously at work even in the great and seemingly final silence of death.  It is in the silence that we acknowledge the day of the Lord is at hand.  

I know that there is a lot going on between now and Easter Sunrise.  We have things to plan and projects to finish.  But as we acknowledge the great and consecrating sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I encourage you to spend some time in disciplined silence.   Breathe deep and quiet your mind--putting aside all the distractions...all the things that need done...all the words you want to say about Christ's sacrifice.  

There in the silence, listen for the voice of Jesus, who is uttering  a Truth that is deeper, broader, and higher than anything our human voices can convey.  And when even his voice falls silent and we lay him in the tomb, let our hearts take comfort in the Holy Spirit's whisper that the story is not over.  That God is at work in this beautiful and terrible silence...and though that Saturday is dark, it is still Holy.  

And as the sun rises on Easter morning, may the Truths God has brought us in the silence help bring new meaning to our joyful songs of praise.

 

Prayer

O Lord, your Day is at hand.  Help me to fall silent at the memory of your great sacrifice.  Here in this silence, may my heart hear the great Truth that you are speaking.