Exploring the Wilderness of Noise & Silence

Mark 11: 1-11 & John 19: 25b-30

Roger Lynn

March 20, 2016

Palm / Passion Sunday

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

~ Following the Mark Reading ~

If you had been a part of this scene, how might the noise and excitement have enhanced your experience of God? How might it have distracted you from experiencing God?

~ Following the John Reading ~

Where in this experience might Jesus have experienced God’s presence? What might have made it more challenging for him to experience God? 

~ Meditation on Noise & Silence ~

During this season of Lent we have been exploring the theme of wilderness - those times in life when danger and challenge seem to wait around every corner, and yet also when the presence of the Spirit can surprise us. We can easily get lost in the wilderness, but we can also be found there. It is the ‘wild’ places in our lives, outside of our normal, predictable routines. We tend to look at wilderness experiences in terms of the dangers and the ways in which we are uncomfortable. But what makes them remarkable are the ways in which new possibilities emerge when we can let go of our fear. 

So it is with the twin themes for this week - noise and silence. Both experiences can be uncomfortable for us, and both present plenty of ways for us to get lost. At the same time, both also offer opportunities for insight and growth and new understanding. Discovering such opportunities, however, requires that we be intentional about how we pay attention in the midst of our living.

The story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is commonly referred to as “The Triumphal Entry.” And yet, an examination of this story within the larger context of the days which followed quickly reveals that any “triumph” was short-lived at best (at least in the ways we normally think of triumph). The noise and excitement of such experiences can be intoxicating. They give us a sense of being a part of something important. But unless we are very careful it is easy to fall into the trap of just “going along with the crowd” - not really understanding what we are doing or what deep meaning might be found in the experience. We can get lost in the wilderness of noise without even realizing it.

The story of Jesus’ death, on the other hand, seems at the very outset to be a wilderness story. We very quickly recognize the themes of isolation, abandonment, suffering, abuse. It seems to be filled with lost and lonely hopelessness, with God nowhere to be found. And yet, it is in the stillness and the quiet of those final moments when Jesus gets in touch with what is really important. He makes sure that his mother is cared for. And then as he senses that he has reached the end, we see a peaceful letting go into the embrace of God’s care. “It is finished.” In the silence which appeared to be such a wilderness, Jesus found a richness which enhanced the final moments of his life.

We are often drawn to noisy experiences, in part I suspect because they distract us from having to spend too much time alone with ourselves. And experiences of silence often leave us uncomfortable, in part I suspect because it is more difficult to avoid facing our own fears. But I am convinced that when we spend time in the wilderness of silence we discover an abundance which can restore and sustain us in our living. In the silence we find connection with ourselves and connection with the Sacred presence of the Divine. What we at first imagine to be a frightening and barren wilderness turns out to be a powerful experience of life. Out of the silence we are better prepared to discover the gifts which are waiting for us in the noise of  our living. May we find the courage to step into this wilderness so that we might encounter God.