Eloquent Silence
I have this habit. Whenever I get in the car, I turn on the radio, or its already on when I start the engine. I would guess that 95% of the time, the radio is on, feeding me important news, relaxing classical music (to counteract my teenage daughters), or perhaps some jazz or rock to slightly (mind you) exceed the posted speed limit by. Schedule to keep, appointments to make, people to see, things to do. Do! Produce! Achieve! I am an American!
And then we have, well, um, the character and call of the Lord. He calls us to something different. Are we capable of slowing down, shutting up, and being quiet? In No Holds Barred, Mark Roberts offers us a taste of change.
We desperately need some quiet; a time to reflect. To be still before our Creator. To think, to feel, to heal. And perhaps, as Mark Roberts suggests, quiet may be a prerequisite to hearing God.
And if we think about it, some of life's most profound moments come out of silence. We all have experienced this. Perhaps the most recent vivid image of profound silence for me was the struggling silence of the final blessing of John Paul II, from his apartment window in the Vatican to the faithful below.
The sign of the cross, the struggling painful face. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Without words. Amen.
I invite you; join me. Be still.
