Sermon 08/10/08 (1 Kings 19:9-18)

“Hang Up and Pray”
1 Kings 19:9-18
Rev. Désirée H. Gold
St. Mark’s United Church of Christ, Baltimore, MD
Sunday, 10 August, 2008
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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 When I take the bus I am surrounded by noise. The bus itself rumbles and rattles. Outside the windows cars and trucks zoom by, people honk their horns, sirens scream. Inside the bus people talk with one another, play music (even though they’re not supposed to play it audibly), and I hear every cell phone ring tone imaginable. I have no idea how people can have an actual phone conversation, because there are times when it’s almost as loud as a rock concert in there.

Riding the bus in the city is an extreme example, but we live in a noisy world. We are “turned on” twenty-four hours a day. I see fewer children playing outside -- they’re inside playing video games that beep and clack. (Of course, if they were outside playing they would be blissfully noisy too.) At the grocery store, parents are busy talking on their cell phones rather than talking to their children. When it comes to news, we prefer to see it on TV or watch videos on the Internet rather than just read a newspaper. When we go jogging (or do anything else) we have to listen to music on our headphones. We tune in constantly, so we can tune out the rest of the world.

It’s no wonder that hearing loss is afflicting people at younger and younger ages. ...When it comes to hearing the voice of God, however, we have always been a little hard of hearing. When we are in the midst of crisis, we want some big sign that God is listening. We want something obvious, something loud.

In the movie “Bruce Almighty,” the main character, Bruce, is having a terrible week. He’s late to work, his car is vandalized, he loses a promotion and then his job. Angry at God, wondering if God is listening, Bruce screams, “You want me to talk to you?! Then talk back! Give me a signal!” He proceeds to drive past a street sign that says “Alert. Caution.” Oblivious, Bruce cries, “Please, send me a sign!” Bruce proceeds to drive past an entire truck full of road signs, with words such as “Stop” and “Yield” printed on them. Still oblivious, Bruce yells, “I need a miracle, I’m desperate! Please reach into my life! Let me see a little wrath! Smite me, O mighty smiter!” ...Bruce then runs smack dab into a light pole. He literally had to be smacked in the face in order to feel listened to by God, and even then it took some serious convincing before he believed it was God who was speaking.

This morning’s scripture from the first book of Kings sets us up for such a scenario. We don’t expect subtlety from God here. In the passages before today’s reading, Elijah calls on God to show Godself with fire, and God does so. -- Not subtle. -- So, when Elijah is told to wait on Mount Horeb because the Lord is about to pass by, we expect that the Lord will make the Lord’s presence known in a big way. Indeed, along comes a big wind! God must be in the wind! ...But God is not in the wind. Then a tremendous earthquake! That must be God! But it is not. Finally, a roaring fire! But that isn’t God either. God isn’t in any of the not-so-subtle “signs” here. Instead, God is in the “sheer silence,” sometimes translated as the “still small voice.”

One doesn’t really have to pay attention if God shows up in a violent storm, a raging fire, or an earthquake. The loudest bus ride or the most engrossing video game, or the most important cell phone call would be forgotten if God made Godself known in such a dramatic way. Sometimes God does. In the book of Exodus, that’s how Moses experienced God on Mount Sinai: fire, smoke, earthquake, and noise. (Exodus 19:18-19) Sometimes it seems that God smack us upside the head with a 2x4 to get us to listen. But at other times God is more subtle. God shows Godself as “sheer silence,” the “still small voice.”

We need to be ready for those times. We need to find that silence. We need to allow ourselves that silence. We need to turn off our phones, our televisions, our Ipods, our motor-mouths, our non-stop doing, get out of the city if necessary, and just sit with God. We need to find a quiet place, silence even our minds, and seek God in the silence. It is a wonder that we can get any praying done at all, considering the lives we live.

What will we see, what will we hear, when we wait for that still small voice? The following story is told about Mother Teresa: She was once asked by an interviewer what she said to God when she prayed, and she answered: “I don’t say anything. I just listen.” When the interviewer asked what she heard God say, Mother Teresa replied: “He doesn’t say anything. He just listens. And if you can’t understand that, I can’t explain it to you.”

Listening for God’s voice, paying attention, does not guarantee that we will hear anything. It does not mean that God will suddenly begin chatting with us, telling us exactly what we think we need to hear, guiding us with wise words, comforting us in the same language used by our best friend. We are told in the scripture that God came to Elijah in sheer silence, but then God is quoted as talking to Elijah, asking him what he’s doing, telling him what to do. We are not told, however, that the sheer silence, the still small voice, suddenly became audible. There is nothing to indicate that the silence of God’s presence changed. We are told only that Elijah saw and heard God. Perhaps, then Elijah just knew God was asking him what he was doing, and in his heart Elijah knew what he must do now.

This makes it sound easy. Wait for God, God will come to you silently, God won’t necessarily speak to you but you will know what to do. After all, this is what happened to the Prophet Elijah in the First book of Kings, chapter 19! Of course, we know that it is not always that easy. Even if we are able to turn everything off, find the silence, and listen for God’s voice while keeping our own mouths shut, we might not hear anything. We might not even really experience God being there or guiding us without words. We might feel that our efforts are worthless or wasted. But here’s the thing. If you are living a life of faith, chances are God is speaking to you. If you are striving to be more like God’s Son, Jesus Christ, chances are God is speaking to you. If you are caring for others and reading the word of God, chances are God is speaking to you. You might not hear God’s voice. You might not discern words. You might not even sense that God is guiding you. But you are being guided nonetheless. As long as you are even attempting to find that sheer silence, chances are God is guiding you in some way.

If your life is a constant stream of noise, then find a way to turn it off. Find time to meditate, to pray without words, to just listen. And once you have done this, once you have found the ability to concentrate solely on God, then let go. Know that God is there is the silence and don’t worry if you cannot hear God shouting at you. In the silence, God will find you whether you think you have found God or not.

Now let us pray.