GOD IN THE SILENCE John M. Buchanan

I Kings 19:9-16 Broad Street Presbyterian Church
August 10, 1975 Columbus, Ohio
It is unfortunate that the significant events in life
neeren
do not presert=themsetr]es with nearly as much precision and
Nave wher
clarity as they de=mweee=thegeame later recreated in lLitera-
Levibe

ture, drama or tiim.\ 11 the concluding segment of the series,

Moses, the Lawgiver, y;

the children of Israel were about to rebel at the prospect

of having to fight their way into the promised land. | etter
to live under oppression than to die in the desert ,"| they
said. \ioses, sioee Leanne them through the wilderness across
the years, stubbornly insisting that they continue, went up

fa des parrtim
onto a mountain and asked God simply to releive him Of <eimks “he

ownerous

emereus responsibility of leading an ungratefuf and rebellious
chowabh, Ae vere of Gos

people.| In the film he is answered by a voice - which sounds
— See —

suspiciously like Burt_Lancaster speaking through a megaphone

The voice tells him that God will never let him go and that
Saas a

not only must he continue_to lead the people but be, Moses,

aw not oc permed to euter

will dme=befone=-epeneenedaiimenmmens the promised land.

Noses arb an auswer
Now, that is not very good news. \ But esmieeeg’ on film, «+ les!
= ae

Moses heard a voice. | That is to say, God made contact, \Mosen
oe |

a
had some reliable, personal evidence that God exists and e*em
Cio Sas Se ne oD

; ialitaganninegts . sisi . _
He brid kore TUTT OT UOd..

ery = Maperediot | Sven Yue i NG hve yerrde Uren

Cayohue wre baked , Noses \ife wade seu.w — We fav\d ep

~ We Veh lumd We umd 6 GA - Me Lote

@iow war leq ever Sor ae ali, arhicvlae No"

to pve hervewt Prayers «

How we long for that precision and clarity. How we wish
== = Es

(eee

that just_once we might possess some incontrovertible evidence

that there is a God and that He cares about us: | suse one ex-
— Ss Eee ad

perience on the mountain top during mck heard the voice
+
of coa.| The Biblical writers don't define or describe te

God's votec only Wa waive Wovld ahoume “ust tress led

film maker's attempt .| Whatever it was, however, Biblical man,
ea

with alarming regularity, is convinced that he has been ad-
ae far ae

Ln tm Brvle

dressed particularly and personally by the Creator.\ God tells
Se Eee Sa sat Slap
people to pick up and move: \pe answers questions: \ responds
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to inquiries: \ dictates laws and at certain times and places
— Eee SS, SS

conducts full conversations with his people.
Ee ee

But not with us.\ Should one of our €ontemporaries claim
== ==

to have conversed with God, our reactiogp would be one of _sus-

picious skepticism .| Several years ago Paul Simon wrote a song

which described the situation for modern man, The Sound of Silence:
nS

"and the people bowed and prayed
to the neon God they made
And the sign flashed out its warning

in the words that it was forming

And the Sign said, 'The words of

the prophets are written on subway walls,
and tenement halls, and whispered,

In the Sounds of Silence,"

That\seefis to be the dillema of wodern may or

tHé6Togical TK, Langdon CLT ke yyeoiethe Univers? ty*oteGhicago,

WEA T2E soem

page 2

a GrOdding & Yu
enrek ers * on
Adin

Pork et Nw _ wind wish:

i Vodice d

"One of the most striking things res Qe SE SSE Se —
t Che
ence in this epoch is that we notice this relation to an un-

conditioned as much by its absence as by its presence.) We

od

become aware of the problem of an ultimate source, an ultimate
(ee

meaning or order in things - an ultimate value to what we are
ee)

and dO — ta@etibat Quy. trachindnioneetinisemnbnemipiei-enmmeniatercicinm.. 6 =.

when we cannot seem to find them, when at our depths there

seems to be only a painful void" (Naming the Whirlwind,

=a -

p. 309 - 310)
Lani st VeFC
Wat Gilkey is suggestége ie—pre=—setorarTy ane enO fT

theclogyes that modern man perceives God more in terms of
eee SE

his absence presence;\more in his silence than his
Ww Gommon folk w@uld not say it that way, but who among
oe

us do and the desire _ for God to do or say some-

thing: | firm our faith and forever put to rest that

deepest doubt that perhaps we are alone after all and that

the void is all there is?
Tt oceors / we, en All our Oroblen may not be “thees Lay Poy
Aref RIALTO T DAI IT, Perhaps,
eo much’ #5 Miia btice |,
even though we ought to know better, we have based our theo-

sterro phinic
logical expectations on the theetuetieel devices of the film

maker, or the simple-minded mentality of Biblicah literalism.
ae ;

Perhaps our problem is that we think that God really did sound
a Fe]

like Burt Lancaster when he addressed Moses and should he ever
end Da eerste ad
address us it ought to sound the same .\ But perhaps it wasn't
— ss ee

that way at all for the men of the Bible either.\ Perhaps _ God's

word for them was a deeply felt, undefinable sense, which,

centeries later, came to be described as a voice.\ Perhaps,
=,

é fendediwr _omauiclive axtiud al page 3

Wouss ot re{lectiv a Arayuf prayzrr

Yura eu

they too, doubted and wondered whether they were betting
——s SES Siac
their lives of{ a figment of their own imagination. \ That, I
= ————

believe, is a suggestion written between the lines of the

Sa Be

Elijah story in I Kings 19.\ It's a good story. | Allow me
a" oS,

to refresh your memory.
adel

The story takes place a long time ago - around 850 B. C.
na Eenrsoa ae
Tt _ reanded peepee pared trerdaacisinstherintns z -_ 1
Pe an cemeee s Been- 6 Sram elie 8A ia Oeics oe 54nd =e 4 ein a on OY
the elie Semester bbe ee ete theese. = =6 Ahab
aay

was the King of Israel: \Hes wife, the daughter of a Phoenic-—
Bice pea
ian priest, Jezebel, was hbdimittittumetDthatiintemies 2 devoted

y
and evangelistic adherent of the Phoenician religion - Baalism.
es Qeer
eee De came to Isr@éel she brought with her 450 Baal priests,
and ¢@@ prophets of the mother-goddess Asherah.
=e TE

Many Israelites found this new religion appealing with

Se

its seductive emphasis on natural and human tertirity. | And
Stee pe ee

when various prophets spoke against Baalism, or its leading

disciple in the royal palace, they were promptly executed.
De al \ SES Ee

Enter Elijah, \ Traveling from his home in Gilead he called

on King Ahab and announeed that because of the infidelity
—a SR

of the people and the royal house there would be a drought

throughout Israel.\ As soon as he left his prediction samen
ona en drovgu == ned ;
true. | For two years $t continued until Ahab finally fern Siseou-ten
eS Sa rp

_ Suwmwone
Elijaii and pew=seerder him to return. \ Again Elijah stated the

reasons for the drought, and challenged the adherents of Baal
Dacor e ampere

[a
to a test of strength. \ a11 the people were to le on

Mt. Carmel \ Two bulls were to be slaughtered and the priests
-_ | bra areal

page 4

wor \o cal vom Baa dy send dows Fie, CMa et

cok mw Uphuuk, da Gd sf Iscur-
4rr'y \ may

. | The people
The’ test wor Plae ue
were to decide - which God was the true God.\ Elijah was

successful: \ the people shouted " Yahueris God" and put to
aa aaa ae a

death the priests and prophets of Baal. \ and Ahab gratefully
eee Cee =e

drove his chariot home through a rainstorm with Elijah ecstati-
a Peis | SSS oe

eally running before him.
Bok it was a brief victory, emesis . \ Jezebel was furious tL Bre
(ee

i musoe ¢
and vowed to kill Elijah, whereupon the prophet fled for his
eh Se Wa ti

life. \ There follows one of the most significant accounts in
oe SSS SS wy

the pipe. | mien traveled tar:\ in fear and, we must assume,
ae may

at Wore,
despair, he asked God to take his lite.\ He ended up in a
eee a a]

cave on Mt. Sinai.\ At night a series of natural cataclysms

occured which the prophet watched in awe :\ a violent windstorm,
esse — SSS

an earthquake, lightning, fire: all ‘them phenomena which the
Dis oe Pasties] Sasa

Canaanites and Baal worshipers would have interpreted as revela-

AVvecpho nics = @mm Weus iA Wield Wes” e|¢pectd
tions of God: edkestidstaephis et ticeessiciichenStnicirbdeacienitteendibaibibiiaaneennia t.

Wewres® Wisse rie. :
But, the account reads, God, surprisingly, was not in the wind,
es

nor the earthquake, nor the fire: \ but afterward, in the ('sti1l,
eas == ==

small voice of caim.") I was intrigued to discover that you

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Layer &
really have to stretch the Hebrew to make mE come out that way.

A better, and more accurate translation is [ithe sound of a

Sara
gentle sitence."| That is to say, it wasn't a voice at all,

en =e

but the eeerie, deathly stillvdg¥ that sometimes happens after
|

a storm. \ It wasn't a resonant, rich baritone voice, but some-
——— ry eS

thing far less precise - the subjective sense of the prophet
ea =e Sa

that God was near and addressing him.

Ww Ma wish oF We Per stnel or ivae

page 5

4 \

Nis age Mower
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peters af dele.
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\oeXost Ww wale

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used of
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wis, Ow? anes)
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In any event, what the prophet heard was a question:
a rather curious question we should think under the circum-
stances:| "Elijah, what are you doing here?" | And then the

SS an itt i)
word of God: |"Go - return 2") 66 back to the word \ back
elas

fa —_ etter om
‘ F ‘ ' ' srt
to work:\| back to the danger and risk of being God's man.

That's the story,and a pregnant one it &s In the
SS =

y) Sa
first place let's consider the fact that Elijah, running
[= eee a
scared, ended up in a cave.\ He wasn't on a spiritual retreat:
a= a a
he didn't go there to pray and meditate. \ He hid in a cave
cence Eee —eEE ae

because life had become too much for him.\ By an ironic twist

of fate : i dctinGd i Ss,
SaeeR
: me. Elijah
Dond Vive as & Yermd, sede itp solar
was ready to call it quits, give up, throw in the ‘onei®| So, Ges

it would appear, modern man responde to the irony and_ambi-

guity of life. \Jwat is the cave for us?

Davie Hapier, Old Testament Scholar, sugggsis that it

comes in mnay forms: \ rugs, alchohol, Sex, T; tee -

Transactional analysis, \TM. - Transcendential Meditation, |
a =e ae
T, 4. —~ try Zen\or T.$.- take Sominex: \ all of them ways

modern man seeks to deal with the frustrations and anxieties
e qa er |

and pa@rplexities of our ite. \ We live in trying times. \ m
Cel — :

a recent survey cited by Time Magazine a substantial pro-
Eee ea ee [ee |
portion of Americans have simply stopped paying attention to

national and international attairs. | there /is something
aa eee

about the energy crisis, the allegations regarding the CuLA: y
Enea es

Pointy

the price of oil,and the prospect of both Israel and the Arabs

Ya. j
hina. Li Veny weapons with which the individual nervous
ia ee Gens 1

page 6

DW sometimes, the pressures of Vu world ate wirroced ove fersmA | er-

Crees Cowe series «| Su \inq e\waq merrily Vefe | he be tw S€eurs
dp Salt ov Pee aud uu Worder we te (at ee cousces

+o Qo ™-:

moda of _

(ouskicu 8vs fous,

system cannot or will not cope-| And so all of us begin to

De —a

cast side-long glances for the nearest cave.
eS Se

Sometimes what we find is rerigion;| sometimes we look
== aay ess an

to the Church to shelter us from the storms of ite\ ft is
oe se sla ==

no mere coincidence that in the fifties - that most stable
SS ele |

and quiet era in recent history, mainline Protestant Churghes

experienced significant growth and displayed robust bealth.

But in the siwties, when national life became devilishly
SS eee sR ETE

complex under the assault of civil rights, and VictNam, and

SS

a new concern for poverty - and the mainline churches plunged
Pret ere SS Se

into the issues, those churches began to decline in numbers
SE SS = Se

and financial strength.\ The churches-that~grew.and are still
eS ee em lm (OS

growing were-those~that™had very little to say about..the press-
——
ing and urgent.issves”*of the aey:\ People, it seems, prefer

@®

the cave’ Elijah, however, was called out of his cave by the
os [lee

word of God.

Consider, inethe™seeond place, the..fact..that Elijah
a =

ae. = q
was looking in the wrong places for God and listening to the
ee == Ses a

wrong sounds .\ Impressed with a dramatic display of natural
— a ———-

phenomena, Elijah must have been moved, inspired. | m his time
eo) ee ee

of danger and distress a God of wind and earthquake and fire @
=D —— —SSaus —).

had a certain practical appeal .\ But God wasn't in the wind,

the earthquake ‘the fire,\ God's presence was not known in the
weer fo sommes Sa

Toud noise, the spectacular display. \ Rather, God _ came to
Sy, SSS Se

al

Elijah afterward, out of a stillness so quiet that it was
SSS

audible \ So it may be that God is silent for us because we
aoe! — Saray SS

look in the wrong places and listen to the wrong sounds.
Sd a

page 7

Certainly we have noise enough. \ The philosopher
ee
oS chopenamer observed that,\"To be alone is the-fate- of all
SEs e =

} , great minds - a fate deplored at times but still always
=e. ————-—

chose. as the less grievious of two evils." Perhaps so.
SSS SSS =a

——

But how rare it is that in the normal course of our lives
qe ee eo eee Gals

any of us experiences silence and stoneness. | On the contrary

our ears and minds and senses are assaulted twenty four hours

a aay. | Musak follows us into the dentist chair, the depar -

ment store, even the beach.\ And when the other sounds of
feces] SS

life threaten to interfere we, some of us that is, plug it

directly into our ear. \Gearge Buttrick mxote \ Saas age is
——Eeer ree

Lee

restless and noisy: \city congestion and distraction war
against the soul} (130 still and know that I am God.) in

the din of traffic we may be deaf to steeple bells; but in
[= Sa

the quiet night we hear. "(prayer Dp 254) depeeesteeres :
itopemmeemneret A noble seockimonh, wo Nae yesr oF our
Lord WIS ~ Gem Ae wiquods are WAS

Wile QHewiay a Geatme iccent\
I visited reaeuesy Several old Quaker Meeting Houses in
SS ee

the Philadelphia area and renewed my appreciation for the
= ES = a Sw

beauty and value of the quiet worship experience.\ A friend

& Wear wae Oveber wees
Un ove yaatovekr4 of mine, a Presbyterian minister, seemded! on Sunday morning

ye bem qvieb= ang reported that he found the extended silence almost un-

ea Se
53 -
a M dere uf bearab1é>| Perhaps God is silent for us because we have
[Sao

Doom

» ake * for th
ove Ow eee orgotten e art and discipline of quiet listening.

Quawidr a fers > OO

Consider, in the third place what Elijah heard when he

perceived the work of coa: wnat are you doing here in the

=

Sioa ee
cave - go back to Israel.” )
lo 9 40

page 8

One of my lingering suspicions is that God seems to be

silent, not so much because he hasn't spoken to us, but because

we don't like what he is sa ing. And one of my lin ering con-
victions is that modern Christianity is most irrelevant when
eau See

it refluses to hear essentially the same word of God that came
——— qn” ae
to Elijah: | "What are you doing here - fgo back."
=== =— Easy fem causa?

As was the case with Elijah modern Christians feel an
SSS ee ees]

overwhelming sense of powerlessness when they confront the
SS Ea ea
problems of the world. \ And the temptation is always very real
See _— aay
to back away from the frustration of that confrontation and
Cerne Sag
\ tee cyl = fae
then to try to justify # by taking the position that the
=
world is secular, evil, sinful and the essenee of religion
SSS == =a Sr
is to cultivate holiness, goodness and piety apart from the

world.

In an excellent new book, Survival and Mission for the

City Church, Gaylord Noyce of Yale Divinity School writes,
| "Basically we have a theological decision to sae | We may

look upon the world as evil and shun it, choosing available
ee Ca aS re,

ee

proof texts to justify ourselves, building enclaves that
a eee at Se

sustain Christian faith for those few born into the community

and attracted by it.| Or we can recognize the world as am-

eae nad

biguous, a source of good and evil and the region into which

Christians are called to meve as leaven_and seasoning to

———————

whatever extent they are able." (p 152)

That is to say, whether a particular Church is involved
EE

page 9

in the world is not a product of its liberalism or conserva-—
—[S oa ore (is ee

tism, it is not a product of its politics or its sociology.
Saar esr le]

It is, quite_simply, a measure of the Church's willingness
pe —)

\aoora
to obey the wammkd of coa. | In the final analysis it is a

theological question: \ a question of the incarnation.\ For

mE ee a a a

God has spoken ultimately and eloquently in the life of his
qq — a Cee)

son - who was born inthe world, lived _in the world and died

ee [eee

Ss eee
in the midst of a most Weeety Let of circumstances \["Goa

loved the world so much that he sent his only Son.) That's

the way the Fourth Gospel has it - and the Church of Jesus
ee —_——es

Christ is summoned to be the continui vehichle of that re-
——ae

deeming and healing rove. \ wnat are you doing here? Go back -
ae ee el
return to the world." | That is the word of God to Elijah and,

I would submit, it is God's word to us.
=<, re

9 ) Elijah was trying to escape from the pain and frustra-
Ce ene | oe ==

_tion and danger of the world by hiding in a cave. | Outside

there was the promise only of more pain and frustration and
eee ae RTD

further danger.“pAnd one thing else - the healing and redeem-
oS aa

Gee el
ing love of Goa, \ For God was in the silence for Elijah after
os ref
the wind and earthquake and fire.
a Peo
9°" fp yer let,
One time. on a hill ou##ide Jerusalen a man was cruci-
/ =—_ fora) ==

tied. | A crowd of jeering people stood at the foot of his
[Ss Eos
crogs:\ mocking him, taunting that if the power of God were
eee OEE SG Say
in him surely he would save himself. \ co was silent for them.
tee ee SS SS
But to others - to milligns upon millions .9f.men and women

the silence of Calvary is the most eloquent - the elearest
foe eer ———— =a

word God has ever spoken.
a]

page 10

As or bed cam te XK Auciples on A storm, lake, so Ged
Ws promises de le UM us

cy

That is the promise of Christian Faith. | God will come
ee Pe

in the silence \ God will come in pain and despair, in sick-
a PT =r

plined listening.

But he will not be beard without discip

God cannot be Enown without the risk of faith - that tenta-
be] De | al =e

4 bl

tive step out of the cave. | And God cannot be served without

conerete involvement in the world he loves,
ee |

Those are the circumstances in which men, beginning
TC

with Elijah, have heard the voice of God in the silence,

And that is the great invitation of the Gospel of Jesus
— ‘aint ua
Christ to you and me. \"Listen~ Believe ~ Go, wocle te den wuseld ‘)
Se ] re a ea Amen
=—_

Father, give us quiet moments in the midst of the
noises cf the world. Give us faith to hear your gracious
word. And give us courage ta follow when you would lead

us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen,

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