Two gifts were delivered by an angel:
One.
…your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness…
and Two.
…because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth.
The first is a joy-filled answer to the prayers of an old man and woman. The second is a surprise sign that God is at work. It doesn’t seem like a gift—more like a rebuke; but it indeed contains a gift for Zechariah–the gift of silence.
Unable to speak for nine months, the rhythm of his day would likely be punctuated with silent prayer and reflection. When his voice is mysteriously restored he astonishes his relatives and community by using the name that God had selected for his son. (It was expected that the child would be called Zechariah, after his father.) Something must have strengthened him during his time out while waiting for the baby’s arrival. In glad obedience he begins to prophesy and offer a song of praise to God known to Christians down through the ages as the Benedictus.
Advent - Thin Places
In our 2nd week of Advent we consider how silence and the waiting that goes along with it can be a thin place to encounter God. Silence is a place that is pregnant with pause. It is a place of possibility. As we enter a time of silence and open ourselves to what we haven’t been listening to or noticing, there is a chance that we might experience an acute awareness of God with us in that quiet space.
Are we willing to risk being quiet?
Are we willing to risk a softening of heart?
Are we willing to just be for a moment?
Can silence become a gift to us?
We, like Zechariah, may discover or re-discover a language of prayer in the rhythm of our day. It may remind us along our journey of what Zechariah sang:
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
May you have the courage today to find a quiet moment where you can breathe deeper and receive whatever gift silence brings you.
beautiful - thank you. needed to read that
Jenny, Thanks for these good words. In the past year silence has become my ‘new best friend’ and I’m seeking to experience more of it this Advent. Love Zechariah’s story… Flying to Thomasville on Thursday for weekend with Mama and Daddy…
Thank you for these thoughtful reflections born out of your own times of silence I suspect. Blessings on you as you write and create and share with the Spirit.
Nice, it’s so important to remember the reason for the season. god does so many miracles in so many ways. I’d like to share one but don’t know how to blog here. I was told u do that so maybe u can help me out, but right now it’s not necessary. I just want to “BE” with god so he can create a new me. god bless u. You have a warm gentle spirit I’m drawn to and I always feel loved by you. god is so good! Thanks for the blessings and hugs to ya
I love the pic!!
Thanks for your comments! May we all find some special moments of silence often during this season. There are lots of online resources that I find helpful. Here are a few:
http://www.explorefaith.org/index.html
http://northumbriacommunity.org/
http://www.labyrinthonline.com/flash/chartres.swf
[...] 3 posts we have up at the refuge blog focused on the thin places – mine is called validation, jenny-silence (we did a really lovely indoor candle labryinth), and [...]