Thursday, January 21, 2016

Fanning the Flame

January 21, 2016

The voice of God can at times be hard to hear. We live so much of our lives surrounded by noise - the radio, television, internet, conversation - that it is hard to hear the whisperings of the Almighty. If all the external noise isn't enough, thoughts, impressions, and images are constantly racing around in my head like a litter of kittens. Getting quiet means corralling those thoughts, which is what St. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 where he tells us to bring our thoughts into submission to Christ. It can be a real challenge. Last night at a mission team meeting, pastor Joe commented on how busy people's lives are, and that time is our most precious commodity. We only have so much of it and usually try to squeeze as much into it as we can, which is one reason it can be so hard to slow down and listen to God. I haven't gone hunting for a number of years for this very reason. I would get out into the woods and if I didn't see anything early on, I'd start to fidget. "I've got stuff I need to be doing," I'd say to myself, and before long, I would get so agitated that I wasn't enjoying myself. Slowing down is hard work. But if I want to hear from God, I have to put on life brakes.

I've been working on it. You'd think it would be easier in retirement, but if I don't force myself to take time in the morning to read and pray, once the day gets underway, it just doesn't happen. It's the same with practicing my bass or bassoon. I have to force myself to slow down. I think it's a pretty universal problem. Moses had to spend years in the wilderness tending sheep before he was ready to hear from God in the burning bush. In order to receive the Ten Commandments he spent forty days and nights fasting and praying in solitude. Luke 3 tells us that the word of God came to John in the wilderness, and like Moses, Jesus himself spent forty days and nights before being tempted by Satan. St. Paul retreated into the desert for three years after his conversion. The monks and mystics all testify to the necessity of silence and solitude to the pursuit of God.

And yet...

Sometimes I need others to help me connect. Friends and sometimes even enemies have insights I need. Tonight was a perfect example of this. I knew that retirement didn't mean my life work was over. It only meant a change of venue, only I didn't know what that would be. Some years before when we first went to Cuba, I made a commitment to the director of the work there that I would stand by him no matter what. Understand that the political tensions between the US and Cuba make that commitment somewhat difficult to maintain. It's been almost two years since I've been able to see my friends there. Just as removing a burning log from the fire causes it to slowly cool till there may only be a smoldering ember, so isolation from ministry can cause the flame to die down. Before Christmas I had been thinking about how I might get more involved in the Cuba mission. Tonight, I felt the Holy Spirit fanning that ember back to flame, giving some form and direction to that earlier commitment. I am thankful for God's whispers in the solitude, and his confirmation in the company of my brothers and sisters.

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