“A Silent Night?”
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” Hebrews 1:1-2a (NIV)
Silence is said to be “golden,” but, to be completely honest, it is not always a welcome part of life. I hear students speak of getting in trouble at school and being given silent lunch. I recently spoke with a gentleman who told me of the silence within his home following the passing of his spouse. When I was a student at Mount Olive, we were required to enter a twelve- hour period of silence during a spiritual formation retreat. Silence can be uncomfortable to say the least for it brings with it feelings of loneliness, emptiness, and unease. Imagine being a devout Jew in the centuries leading up to the birth of Jesus. The voices of the prophets were distant memories, and God’s people continued to find themselves scattered and under pagan rule. Between the words of Malachi which conclude the Old Testament and the beginning of the Gospels, a period of about 400 years passed which has come to be known as the “Intertestamental Period” or the “Silent Years.” God’s voice seemed muffled even as events on the world stage were anything but quiet. However, God was far from being an absentee landlord during that time. Prophetic speech and writing might have been less frequent, but God was still up to something in preparing the world for the arrival of his Son. The words which open the letter known as Hebrews serve to remind readers of how God is always at work and, while God’s nature does not and will never change, God is not afraid of doing that which is fresh and new. During the years of the Divided Kingdom, siege of Jerusalem, and Babylonian captivity, the prophets were God’s instruments for pointing out injustice, warning of God’s judgment, and calling out for people to amend their ways. Over time, the prophets’ words were put to papyrus and eventually canonized as the “Major” and “Minor Prophets.” For generations, this means of communication proved to be God’s method for getting a word to the people. With time, those voices faded and God’s people wondered if they would hear again from the Lord. Even as the people reminisced about God’s former words and deeds, they retained hope because of what the prophets had spoken generations earlier. Yes, God had used individuals for centuries prior to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The more we acquaint ourselves with their words and come to appreciate their unique personalities, we may wonder why God did not do the same thing as before. At times, it did prove to be effective. While, at other times, their messages fell upon deaf ears. Certainly, the prophets were called and equipped of God, but, at the same time, they were not God. Their message, while inspired of God, was not the same as God walking and talking upon the earth God created. According to the author of Hebrews, “God has spoken in these last days through the giving of God’s very Son.” Instead of another written or spoken word, God’s fresh Word was a person, a man of skin and bone just like us who was at the same time fully divine. The words “last days” may puzzle some because the author was writing some 2,000 years ago. We tend to think of “last days” being a time in the future leading up to the return of Christ and the consummation of God’s Kingdom. While that may be one understanding of “last days,” it does not capture the fullness of the author’s usage. Some may wish to take the words as meaning something like “here recently.” That is also a possibility with the author having written just decades after the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. However, when we read the Gospels as a companion to this Hebrews text, we find that with Jesus God was ushering in a new day of God’s reign. We often speak of God’s Kingdom as being a future place, but in Christ what we anticipate has already begun. Through the Word made flesh, we have been brought into the presence of God in a way which was impossible prior to Jesus. The Kingdom is something which is already, but at the same time not yet. Today, we as Christians live in the in-between times. We prepare to celebrate the first Advent even as we anticipate the second one. Although one of our favorite hymns of this season is “Silent Night! Holy Night!,” it was not exactly all calm and bright. Have you ever been around a completely quiet child birth? Probably not! No, I am pretty certain there were plenty of noises on that first Christmas when God’s Son came into our world. But more than sounds, I believe what was heard that night was the voice of God exclaiming “This is me and this is how much I love you!” Thanks be unto God that God did not remain silent and continues to call out to us at Christmas and every other day as well!
Blessings on Your Advent Journey, The Reverend Kelley Smart