Vicar's Voice - Pentecost 2024

Be still, and know that I am God.

- Psalm 46:10a King James Version

As many of you know, I have recently been on a retreat at the Redemptorist Retreat Center in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. After twenty years of being an Associate of the Order of Julian, an Episcopal order dedicated to the charisms of Julian of Norwich, an anchorite and mystic in our Anglican tradition, I finally was able to engage the other Associates, Oblates, and Regulars in the order. Like me they are dedicated to contemplative prayer, spiritual guidance, and the principles of stability, conversion of life, and obedience. It was wonderful to be around faithful persons who saw God, the world, and one another as I do.

The week began with a silent retreat. I shared with several people that I was anxious about this. I didn't know that, aside from sleep, I had gone as long as even thirty minutes without saying something to someone (or at least talking to myself!). I wondered if it would be awkward or uncomfortable, and if I would slip and speak during our times of silence. What I found was that it was SO EASY to not talk! I realized that silence truly is "golden," and that it was a great relief to not have to fill that silence with my own voice. In fact, coming out of the silent portion of the retreat, I found myself asking if what I was about to say was really worth saying. I can imagine my spouse and family thinking, "Try that around the house every now and then!"

I also found the verse from Psalm 46 playing on a loop: "Be still, and know that I am God." The phrase "be still" always seemed to be a reminder to not be anxious, to not make noise, to not be overly active - be still. In this God is suggesting that in order to be aware and trusting of God's grace and power, we need to be aware of that grace and power. If we're too busy acting, doing, and thinking, we may not be in a place to hear it. In the original Hebrew text, the word "harpū" (הַרְפּ֣וּ) is used (this is the only time this particular form of the word occurs anywhere in scripture).  Harpū, however, doesn't only mean "be still." It can also be translated as "cease," or "stop striving." The Common English Bibles, a more recent translation, has "That's enough!" followed by "Know that I am God!" Here, it is not a matter of simply being, but of responding to a direct command from God.

So many times we are caught up in ourselves, our projects and efforts. We focus on what we are trying to accomplish, the obstacles that are preventing us from achieving our goals, the strategies we are employing, and the expectations of what our worlds will be like when we get what we want. Though the pursuit of goals is essential, it is good now and then to pause or even stop, and remind ourselves that God is the Prime Mover, the Creator, the Almighty. It's good to hear that still, small voice, shout out to us in silence, "That's enough!"

I know that few of us have the leisure of honoring moments of silence. And that many of us who live alone are surrounded by silence and are eager to share our days with others. Regardless, I invite you to take even just a moment, to be still, to cease striving, and to be reminded of God's grace, love, and presence.

In God's Grace,

Fr. Shawn