Silence. Deafening silence. It has been with me since Tuesday of this past week.
It happened because we had no power for just over an hour and a half. I had no idea how noisy our home was until it all stopped. No fans humming. No motors whirring. No noise at all from any corner. Just the background noise of the Yellowhead traffic and the sweet music of God's creation. I was awestruck. This happened because we were moving our electrical services to include our new garage. The contrast with today (Thursday) could not have been more stark. Today there was more construction at our place and also the construction noise of demolition just north of us as a city crew started to demolish a pocket park in order to extend 124 St. north again as part of the Yellowhead reconstruction. Big machinery moving on that job.
God speaks to us through silence. I know this from Psalm 46:10 and 1 Kings 19:12. There are some 34 references to silence in the bible. I would note that Jesus goes to quiet places to talk to God so that he can hear clearly in his soul. Mark 6 and Matthew 14 have examples of this occurring. We need this direction right now for our congregation; for our synod; for our church; for the Protestant side of Christianity. Because we need to hear what God in the Holy Spirit is saying to us. How to continue the work at hand. How to off-load buildings that drain our resources. How to seek, as some prophetic voices are calling for, an end to denominationalism.
We live now in a new time. Post-pandemic church is not the same as it was before. Some of our old practices still help, such as doing in-person service each Sunday. And others, such as having four church buildings in less than a kilometer area do not serve us at all. So I invite you to join me in a small exercise this week. Find a spot with no distractions other than those of being outside. Sit quietly and listen with the ears of your heart and soul. See what God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit have to say. This can take only a few minutes or stretch to some length; depends on what you are hearing. And then, go do what our Triune God told you to do.
As we work in and for the kingdom. Pr. Scott
