(Editor’s note: The following is a submission to The Recorder’s weekly column, “Faith Matters.” Each Saturday, a different faith leader in Franklin County offers a personal perspective in this space. To become part of this series, email religion@recorder.com or call 413-772-0261, ext. 265.)
Like many babies, my son becomes upset when I change his clothes. He gets nervous when I pull shirts over his head. He starts to scream if the process takes too long.
Knowing his anxiety about disappearing into his shirts, I talk him through the process of getting changed. When we get to the part where I have to pull the shirt over his face I say things like, “You’re OK, Mommy’s here.”
The problem is that by the time we have reached this point, Patrick is so worked up and yelling so loudly he can’t hear me!
I think about Patrick’s clothes-changing anxiety often because it reminds me of how many adults respond to crises in our lives and in the world around us.
Something happens and we have trouble seeing God — just like a baby whose vision of their parent is obstructed by a shirt being pulled over their face.
God calls out to us, offers comfort and reassurance, but we cannot hear because we are railing so loudly against the turmoil.
The human race is no stranger to violence, tragedy and crises; we know the pain of cruelty, hatred and natural disasters well.
In the cacophony of all this arguing, hatred, violence and destruction, it becomes difficult if not impossible for us to hear God’s voice. In all this harshness we may begin to wonder if God is even still around! But throughout Scripture we are told that God is present, that God’s presence takes many forms and that God speaks in many different ways.
The story of the prophet Elijah is one that reminds us how God speaks in a variety of ways.
In the throes of desperation, uncertain whether or not God is still present and unable to hear God’s voice any longer, Elijah goes out to the face of the mountain. There, he just knows that God will speak to him in some grandiose, dramatic way.
Then come the winds, so violent and fierce that the mountains are torn in two. Here we can almost feel Elijah’s anticipation. Every muscle flexed, ready to spring into action when God makes God’s presence known.
But the winds come and go — and Elijah doesn’t find God in the winds.
Next comes the earthquake. Once again we sense the urgency in Elijah’s searching and waiting. But the earthquake comes and goes just like the wind — and still no God.
Next comes the fire — but God is not in the fire.
And so Elijah stands there on the mountain, fully anticipating that he will hear God’s voice, certain that God will speak to him and that God will speak loudly.
There is nothing but silence.
And it is here in the silence that God speaks to Elijah.
Sometimes God speaks to us in the winds, or in earthquakes or in flames or burning bushes. Sometimes God does speak to us in loud, dramatic, attention-grabbing ways.
But other times God speaks to us in the quiet spaces of our lives because sometimes we are better able to hear in the silent spaces.
But what happens when the world has become so loud that there is no silence?
What happens when the world is so full of tragedy and violence that we can’t help but be afraid, and from that fear we fill up the silence with our anguished cries?
We begin to question God’s presence in the face of tragedy. We can’t help but wonder how God could allow certain things to happen. We wonder where God is in the midst of violence, death and destruction.
We need to listen and continue listening until we reach the stillness, the silence, because sometimes God speaks in the shaking of the earth and sometimes God speaks in the silence on the other side.
Rev. Megan invites you to the Central Congregational Church of Orange, located at 93 South Main St. We are a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). Our Sunday morning worship, which begins at 10:15 is mostly traditional with Scripture, prayer, organ and choir, and is very much “come as you are!” Our “Cellar Closet” thrift shop is open Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon, September through May, and we host various fundraisers and fellowship events throughout the year. Our next big event is our annual church fair being held on Saturday, Nov. 5 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information please call 978-544-6895, email Revmegan@aol.com, like us on Facebook or visit www.centralchurchorange.org.