Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
There are times for all of us when we need to get away. Where we feel that we
have been betrayed or that we have messed up. Maybe we’re angry at those we
love in our lives. Maybe we’re angry with those we have just learned are our
enemies. Maybe we are mad at God Himself, not for anything that He has done,
but for not stepping in and squashing those who have 'done us wrong.'
During some of the worst of these sorts of struggles in my life, I have found
Glacier National Park to be a place of comfort. Not because it is a Holy Site, at
least not to anyway except maybe me. Not because there is anything particularly
religious about the place, again, except maybe to me. Not because before I
started going there I had any particular thought or connection with the place. It’s
a good place to go because it is removed. Yeah, there’s tourists and animals and,
if you’re not careful, dangerous things like bears. But there are also a lot of
spots that are very removed from the rest of the world. There are spots where
you can escape everything else. And it is in these removed places that I have
often had time to reflect. And it’s in some of these places that I’ve heard been
able to finally hear what it is that God has been trying to say to me.
Silence. Removal. These are things that we are not very comfortable with. These
are things we’ve had to get used to, such as the brief moment of reflection after
the sermon. But Silence is necessary if we are to truly listen to what God is
saying. Especially in our times of struggle.
In the scene from 1 Kings this morning, we find Elijah in such a despondent
state. He has just irrefutably proven that the only God that exists is the God of
Israel. And in doing so, he has managed to tick off Queen Jezebel, who is after
Elijah’s head. So Elijah natural does the thing we all would probably do, but
which we hope a prophet would have the guts not to do.
He runs. He runs as fast as he can. He runs as far as he can until he is removed
from everything. And he gives up, because it seems all is against him. It seems
all is lost. And he asks for the Lord to take it all away.
But an angel comes and leads him. The angel makes sure Elijah finds the food
he needs to make it to Horeb, the mount where Moses himself had his own
encounter with God, which we read about last week.
Elijah is told to go and to stand on the mountain and the Lord will pass by.
There are stormy winds, earthquakes, and fire. But God is not in those.
God is in what follows. The part which the NRSV actually translates correctly
as "the sound of sheer silence."
And it’s when this silence comes that Elijah knows the Lord is here.
The silence is what it takes for Elijah to stop and listen. And that's when God and Elijah begin to have a conversation.
What we see here is the nature of prayer. Just like with our worship service, it’s not about what we are saying to God or even what God is saying to us. It’s about both. Just as we hear what God has to say to us through His word, we also offer up our “prayers or praise and thanksgiving.” Just as we offer up our words in the Eucharist, so too do we receive the presence of Christ Jesus inside us. It’s not about who is talking to who. It’s about both. It’s about us having a conversation with God. That’s what prayer is.
Paul, in quoting Torah, puts it another way. “The Word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.” God is present here with us. When we talk, he listens. And He does respond back. But we have to stop and listen to Him. Otherwise we will miss what God is saying.
Sometimes it takes us going out into the wilderness. Sometimes it takes getting away from it all to actually listen. To actually hear what God is saying back to us. Sometimes it takes embracing that sound of sheer silence, where there is nothing else to distract us from really hearing God.
So in those dark times, those times of confusion, betrayal, and fear, we don’t have to look any further. God is there. God is around us. God is listening and responding. In our prayer, God is in conversation with us.
But to actually hear Him, sometimes we have to distance ourselves from those things that distract us, those things that keep us from hearing His voice. So what is it in your life that is keeping you from hearing God? What is it you can do to better listen to God’s voice in your life?
And it’s when this silence comes that Elijah knows the Lord is here.
The silence is what it takes for Elijah to stop and listen. And that's when God and Elijah begin to have a conversation.
What we see here is the nature of prayer. Just like with our worship service, it’s not about what we are saying to God or even what God is saying to us. It’s about both. Just as we hear what God has to say to us through His word, we also offer up our “prayers or praise and thanksgiving.” Just as we offer up our words in the Eucharist, so too do we receive the presence of Christ Jesus inside us. It’s not about who is talking to who. It’s about both. It’s about us having a conversation with God. That’s what prayer is.
Paul, in quoting Torah, puts it another way. “The Word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.” God is present here with us. When we talk, he listens. And He does respond back. But we have to stop and listen to Him. Otherwise we will miss what God is saying.
Sometimes it takes us going out into the wilderness. Sometimes it takes getting away from it all to actually listen. To actually hear what God is saying back to us. Sometimes it takes embracing that sound of sheer silence, where there is nothing else to distract us from really hearing God.
So in those dark times, those times of confusion, betrayal, and fear, we don’t have to look any further. God is there. God is around us. God is listening and responding. In our prayer, God is in conversation with us.
But to actually hear Him, sometimes we have to distance ourselves from those things that distract us, those things that keep us from hearing His voice. So what is it in your life that is keeping you from hearing God? What is it you can do to better listen to God’s voice in your life?