Can you hear the voice of God?
When, in the First Book of Kings, the prophet Elijah flees Queen Jezebel and goes off into the wilderness, he prays for death. But God has other plans for Elijah, and so Elijah experiences a theophany – a tangible manifestation of divine power or presence – on the mountain of God, Horeb. Surprisingly, though, Elijah seems to have trouble recognizing the Lord, for the Lord is not in the potentially fear-inducing strong and heavy wind or the earthquake or the fire; God is present to Elijah in a tiny whispering sound. Elijah had been looking for an extraordinary revelation and yet God prefers that which is small and ordinary. Elijah simply needs to be ready and open to listening to God in whatever way God chooses to approach him. Like the people of Israel returning from exile in Psalm 85, Elijah is no doubt comforted by the hopeful knowledge of God’s care for him: Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. The psalmist knows that kindness and truth meet in the covenant-inspired God of Israel.
Like Elijah, Peter is easily distracted from seeing the Lord before him. Matthew’s Gospel recounts the disciples’ terror at seeing Jesus coming toward them walking on the sea; they fear he is a ghost. Peter challenges the figure: Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. And Peter does step out of the boat – but then he is distracted by the wind and his fear and doubt take over. O you of little faith, Jesus says to him, why did you doubt? Jesus is the quiet that steps into the boat to calm their fear, for fear does not let love in, and Jesus, the peace in the storm, will not be blocked out. Ultimately, they trust and find security in his grace: Truly, you are the Son of God. Years later, Paul writes to the Roman community of his own great sorrow and constant anguish regarding the failure of his own people, the Israelites – to open to the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. But, unlike Elijah or Peter, Paul will not be distracted from his proclamation of the news of salvation, for it is from them, from his own people, that Christ has come to save the world, and Paul will stop at nothing to tell them so.
It is difficult for human beings to empty themselves of their ego so that they can hear the voice of God. We want to hear God’s will for us; we need to hear God’s will for us. But our ego tends to block out the small, calming voice of the Lord. Yet it is only by careful listening, by attentive openness to his voice, that we will hear what he intends for us, and respond, not out of fear, but out of the love that comes from the depths of our being, ready and eager to respond to God’s call.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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