Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Silver Linings

Sarah McEvoy

I have this memory of a Christmas Eve service several years ago. St. John’s was filled to the rafters as it often is at Christmas and Easter. Rob’s message was a participatory demonstration of the awe of silence. He asked us to create raucous noise stamping our feet and filling the building with sound. This was to be followed by total silence, which we all agreed might not be possible with so many children in the sanctuary, filled with thoughts of Santa, and possibly some sugar cookies. The experiment was flawless, the silence deafening and awe inspiring. That is the on-going blessing of the pandemic to me, the volume of life has turned way down.

In Habakkuk we’re reminded of the reverent place of silence. The Word says, “The Lord is in his Holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him,” (Hab.2:20) The lower volume, the slower pace, and the time spent in the natural beauty of Portsmouth allowed me to hear God’s voice. He spoke in the song of birds, in the wind through the leaves, in the ripple of the waves through the stones on the beach. Hearing Him speak this way granted peace in the uncertainty and allowed me to have great gratitude for his presence.

The lyrics of William J. Kirkpatrick’s hymn, The Lord is in His Holy Temple, taken from Habakkuk 2:20, explain so well the place of silence, the power of lower volume.

God is in his holy temple.

Earthly thought, be silent now,

While with rev’rence we assemble

And before his presence bow.

He is with us, now and ever,

When we call upon his name,

Aiding ev’ry good endeavor,

Guiding ev’ry upward aim.

May you find the blessing of low volume as a silver lining of the pandemic.