The Voice of God

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Eli, Here I am Lord, listening, Samuel, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice of God

One of the most commonly recognized stories in the Hebrew Scriptures appears as today’s first lectionary reading. (1SM 3) It’s the story of the boy Samuel in his first days in the temple when “he was not yet familiar with the Lord.” It could actually be presented as a comedy in a religion class with Samuel getting out of bed and running to Eli saying, “You called me!” and Eli responding: “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed!” By the third time this happens, Eli the prophet catches on that God is calling the boy, so he instructs Samuel to answer, saying,”Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Many of us long for such a clear message from God, and to be able to recognize it when it comes. Some of us have wise people who help us interpret messages when we don’t recognize the voice of God. To be fair, we can’t always count on such a “direct address” as we find in today’s reading. How have you heard God speaking in your life? Do you allow at least a modicum of silence in your days so that you might hear a message? Are you open to new ways of hearing, new sources of wisdom? Have you any prompts in your environment? A candle perhaps, or music? Or perhaps an icon, a favorite picture of Jesus? There are many ways of preparation to hear the voice of God. And always, an open heart can echo this morning’s responsorial psalm, saying: “Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will!” If you put yourself in the place of most opportunity (openness) and make it a habit to call to God, you might be surprised someday to hear God’s voice in answer!

Tiny Whispers

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Elijah, hear, Kings, listen, mountain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice of God, whisper

Today we’re again reminded that God can be a surprise, appearing where and when we least expect a such a gift. (See 1 KGS 19:9A, 11-13A) The prophet Elijah is taking shelter on Horeb, “the mountain of God.” (Mountains often figure in these stories for some reason: their opportunity for solitude? the successful challenge of the climb? nearness to heaven? or…perhaps none of the above.) Elijah hears the voice of God saying, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by.” As we probably have heard, many loud and visually cataclysmic events followed then that he could not have missed: wind, earthquake, fire…but God was not in any of those happenings. It was “a tiny whispering sound” that Elijah heard and recognized as God’s voice.

How could he have heard God in that tiny moment? I think the only answer can be: practice. Elijah was one of the major prophets and obviously one who was practiced in listening. That was his job: being alert for God’s messages to the people. As such he was probably aware of any small shift in conditions inside and out. Maybe his emotions were stirred. Maybe he had a felt sense in his body…I don’t know.

What I do know and am more aware of as I reflect on this familiar text is that there’s a lot of noise in the world today – much of it negative and loud. It doesn’t feel to me that there is much mountain climbing to achieve solace and hear the voice of God. There are lots of zoom calls though and some are helpful. I meet with one group that I think might approximate Elijah’s ability to hear God in the midst of babble. Sometimes it’s hard not to try to fill the silence when no one is speaking. I’m learning, however, that this is the experience that I need to value the most because everyone is silently listening for the word of God to come through. And it is usually not a bombastic declaration. Most often the word is spoken in little more than a tiny whisper. And we are all trying to hear…Do you know what I mean?

Listening With Your Heart

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Benedictine, choice, debate, decisions, Joan Chittister, listening, pray for wisdom, spirituality, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice of God, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily

I felt I needed to check news headlines this morning as I had been rather “out of the loop” during a whirlwind week playing “catch-up” with myself. It was an interesting few minutes. Most of what I read were a number of interpretations of the debate performances of one or all of the ten top candidates of the Democratic Party for our next President of the U.S.A. Everyone has an opinion and, although I do realize many of the reporters do their “homework” before, during and after events such as these, I will now be better off reading transcripts of what they really said and following my own heart in making decisions. I would wish for some face-to-face time with each one of those still standing but will have to settle for replays and reflection for the next several months.

After my foray into the news headlines I spent some time with Joan Chittister’s Wisdom Distilled from the Daily. Sister Joan always has a way of pulling me back into my own head and heart with just the right words. (I would do well to support her for some lofty political office, I think.) Here’s what she said that, by way of analogy, reinforced my confidence this morning.

Benedictine spirituality is, then, the spirituality of an open heart…At one point in the monastic life, I was sure that knowing the Rule and practicing its practices was the secret of a holy life. Now I know that knowing the document will never suffice for listening to the voice of God wherever it may be found. No longer do I hope that someday, somehow, I will have accumulated enough listening so that there will be no further questions about pious practices that can easily be learned. Now I have only a burning commitment to those qualities of the spiritual life that must be learned if I am to grow. (p.24-25)

It’s far-fetched perhaps as a way to proceed in winnowing the political field for office, but I do think there is a relevance in Sister Joan’s comments. It’s up to me to go beyond the words offered by the candidates, to feel their motivations and check their past and present actions for what is really the make-up of their agenda – to the best of my ability, of course. And in the end, to pray for wisdom and the best hope for the future of our country.

The Seventh Day

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, keep holy the Sabbath day, life, listen, Psalm 95, Sabbath, ten commandments, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice of God

No matter what’s happening, when I wake up on Sunday morning I always feel different from other days. The Scriptures for today remind me of the reason that is true for me. The first reading (for Year B) recounts the Ten Commandments, the fourth being described as follows: Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God…no work may be done.

Sometimes these days it’s impossible for everyone in these United States to observe Sabbath in their traditional way. Just the fact that work schedules span the 7-day, 24-hour work week for certain employees makes that easy to see. Whether we have to carve out our own Sabbath time because of our life circumstances or are able to join with traditional services where we live, the observance of Sabbath is clearly an essential element of our well-being. A reminder in Psalm 95 today says it well.

So come, then, let us bow before this God of ours, and offer up our beings to the Lord. Listen deep within yourself to hear the voice of God who shepherds you and leads you forth to life. (vs. 6-7, Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.241)

 

 

 

 

 

Pay Close Attention

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Elijah, God, Kings, pay attention, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice of God, whisperings, whispers

This morning’s first reading (1KGS 19:9-13) tells the story of the prophet Elijah when he took shelter in a cave on Horeb, the mountain of God. There God spoke to him  saying, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by.”  The rest of the reading tells of all the ways one might expect the voice of God to be heard in all its majesty – strong and heavy winds, earthquake, fire – but, the reading says, the Lord was not in any of these. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound (sometimes translated as a gentle breeze). When he heard that sound, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance to the cave. Elijah knew the power of God – that no one could see the face of God and live, thus he covered his face to approach God. He also, however, knew enough to expect God to visit him, not necessarily in such a powerful manifestation but perhaps in the gentleness of a breeze or a whisper.

Today as I go about my life, I will consider the many ways in which God manifests in my world as well as in the larger reality of our world and the cosmos. I will try to really pay attention so I don’t miss the tiny whisperings while I’m waiting for the thunderous moments of this magnificent, personal, kind and gentle God.