A Silence That Speaks

Morning Silence in Vercor, Grenoble

'O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.' Psalm 131:2

When we visited Helsinki on 13 August 2010 we learnt about the great Finnish composer, Sibelius who composed the well loved anthem, Finlandia. The tour guide informed us that although Mr Sibelius travelled the world, most of his compositions were inspired and written in Finland. He had a famous quotation “In Finland there is a silence that speaks” and this was inscribed on his memorial. He meant that he found the peace and quiet of his country especially inspiring.

Sibelius Memorial, Helsinki

A silence that speaks - this phrase resonated with me when I first heard it because at that time I felt distanced from God. It seemed that the quiet whispers of God speaking to my soul had gone. If it had been present, as it surely must have, it was simply ignored and shut out. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months, still there was no inspiration. I simply did not enjoy any contemplative moment. I was too hurried. I need to shut out the noise of a busy life, keep still, enjoy the silence and hear God’s inspiration. When I viewed the countryside around Helsinki, I knew that God spoke through the silence.

Kent Nerburn spoke of being in Saskatchewan once. The wind there was extremely strong and loud to him, a newcomer to the area. But the people in that part of Canada were so used to this wind that they hardly noticed its presence. So too is the voice of God. It is always present but we fail to give it the correct attention because life itself, like the Saskatchewan wind, sound-surrounds and shuts out God’s voice.

God’s voice like the wind does not stop, it just drops down to a whisper. Does this happen ever so often in your life? Our own self importance, our self directedness stifles the God given instinct for communication and communion. 

Our former Pastor Tan-Yeo Lay Suan once shared, "Stillness and Silence is always a prerequisite for receptivity. Telephones and television sets cannot receive messages when they are too filled with static and noise." When we learn to wean off the voices of the world, then perhaps we can start to listen to the voice of God. If we are to listen above the noise, we have to calm and quieten our soul like a child at the mother's breast, a child not hooked on the distractions of the busy life.

Richard Tan also struggled with this silence from God which he found perplexing especially with respect to unanswered prayer. He found insight and comfort in Eugene Peterson's sharing, "We have learned by experience that God's silence in the face of our prayers is not due to some inadequacy on our part or some technical glitch in the way we pray. God's silence is a common and repeated experience among all who pray. Like the widow who did not lose heart, why do we keep praying? We do it because we know who God is and what He is like. Having kept company with Jesus, we know the character and work of the God who is with us. That is why we keep praying and do not lose heart."  

There is a mountain in the middle of France near the town of Grenoble upon which a monastery was founded by St Bruno. It is called the Grand Chartreuse. For nine centuries, contemplative Catholic monks and nuns of the Carthusian Order, have been faithful to the vocation of silence. There in the stillness of the surrounding countryside in which the brothers pray and live their lives in silence not speaking to each other except for a few days in a year. Yet, the testimonies of the monks speak of them knowing God, the world, society and humankind in depth and truthfulness. Was it not, Mahatma Gandhi who said “It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without heart?” The Carthusian monks knew this secret centuries ago.

And God comes to them. There is song written by David Haas entitled 'You Are Mine' whose first line reassures that God will come to us in the silence

I will come to you in the silence

I will lift you from all your fear

You will hear My voice

I claim you as My choice

Be still, and know I am near

I am hope for all who are hopeless

I am eyes for all who long to see

In the shadows of the night,

I will be your light

Come and rest in Me

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

I am strength for all the despairing

Healing for the ones who dwell in shame

All the blind will see, the lame will all run free

And all will know My name

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

I am the Word that leads all to freedom

I am the peace the world cannot give

I will call your name, embracing all your pain

Stand up, now, walk, and live

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

Lionel

Updated. 1st published 13 August 2010

The Quintessential Pastor

A Pastor and Her Congregation

“ Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” Acts 20:28-31

On the last day of 2012, we paid tribute to our outgoing Pastor Tan-Yeo Lay Suan, bidding her farewell after 7 years as the pastor-in-charge of Charis Methodist Church. There were heaps of sincere praise and an outpouring of gratitude.

Lay Suan came to our local congregation in January 2006, our very first lady pastor. She is petite, a trifle frail, but she is a powerhouse minister, performing her many duties as Pastor-in-Charge resolutely and with patience and gentleness.

Church elder, Koh Wan Yee aptly summarised her 7 years ministry in Charis, calling her “…a quintessential pastor, a pastor to all members for all seasons”. 

A minister of the church is a time-honoured vocation.  It is an onerous job. At times, it can be filled with agonising moments of disappointments whilst other times are filled with the elation and joys of having influenced and assisted others in their spiritual journeys. No achievement can surpass that of having guided people through difficult periods, healing hurts, sustaining spirits and restoring their spiritual health.

Unobtrusively, Lay Suan had the courage to exert her leadership in a manner after Bishop Emeritus Robert Solomon’s advice: “As ministers of order, pastors must exercise pastoral leadership, leading not just with the exhortation of their words, but also with the example of their lives. Pastors must also motivate their flocks to follow Christ and to live lives worthy of God. Their leadership must be exercised through personal involvement in the lives of their flocks. They must earn the respect of their flocks in the way they conduct themselves. They must lead their flocks." (Ref 1).

To these duties, Pastor Tan-Yeo offered herself unreservedly and unpretentiously. In so doing, she led, nurtured, encouraged, counselled and protected the flock just as St Paul expected in his farewell message to the Ephesians elders in Acts 20. She left behind an indelible mark and she will be remembered with fondness.

Lionel

Ref 1: R.S. Solomon Ordination Service at 28^th Session of the Chinese Annual Conference, Singapore 13 Nov 2003.