Bishop Whipple
Chaos and Stillness
Jan. 29, 2025 12:10 Filed in: Commentaries
Friends,
Before last Sunday's Annual Meeting, I preached about Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple, who went to President Lincoln to ask for mercy for the Dakota warriors, who had been condemned to death en masse. You can watch the sermon here. I previewed a bit of where we're going in 2025 in that sermon as well!
Looking back at our history matters, because it helps us get some perspective on the present. As the new presidential administration has released so many executive orders designed to reshape the United States government, many people are left feeling bewildered, to say the least.
It makes me think of the story in 1 Kings 19, in which Elijah, reeling, flees for his life from the pursuit of his enemies, and hides in a remote cave in the wilderness, and waits for a word from God.
Now there was a great wind,
so strong that it was splitting mountains
and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord,
but the Lord was not in the wind,
and after the wind an earthquake,
but the Lord was not in the earthquake,
and after the earthquake a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire,
and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.
When Elijah heard it,
he wrapped his face in his mantle
and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
1 Kings 19:11-13
Environmental chaos, actual wildfires, the foundation-shaking experience of personal health issues and losses, and the wildfire of political upheaval: all of these catastrophes are present, in some way, in our lives. And the political strategy of 'flooding the zone' is expertly designed to destabilize people so that they are afraid, paralyzed, and reactive to those literal and metaphorical winds, earthquakes, and fires.
How might we find the still point, the quiet, the silent space in which to hear the voice of God? What kind of practices of prayer, what grounding in community and faith, what discernment of action will help you recognize the voice of God in the midst of chaos?
The God who spoke out of the silence and chaos of Creation, the God who was courageously silent in trial before state-sponsored execution, the God whose wind and flame broke over the earliest Christians and breathes in us now, is present in the midst of the noise and fear. We, like Elijah, get to find times of retreat and stillness in order to let our souls be nourished by that sacred, spacious quiet.
Peace,
Susan+
Before last Sunday's Annual Meeting, I preached about Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple, who went to President Lincoln to ask for mercy for the Dakota warriors, who had been condemned to death en masse. You can watch the sermon here. I previewed a bit of where we're going in 2025 in that sermon as well!
Looking back at our history matters, because it helps us get some perspective on the present. As the new presidential administration has released so many executive orders designed to reshape the United States government, many people are left feeling bewildered, to say the least.
It makes me think of the story in 1 Kings 19, in which Elijah, reeling, flees for his life from the pursuit of his enemies, and hides in a remote cave in the wilderness, and waits for a word from God.
Now there was a great wind,
so strong that it was splitting mountains
and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord,
but the Lord was not in the wind,
and after the wind an earthquake,
but the Lord was not in the earthquake,
and after the earthquake a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire,
and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.
When Elijah heard it,
he wrapped his face in his mantle
and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
1 Kings 19:11-13
Environmental chaos, actual wildfires, the foundation-shaking experience of personal health issues and losses, and the wildfire of political upheaval: all of these catastrophes are present, in some way, in our lives. And the political strategy of 'flooding the zone' is expertly designed to destabilize people so that they are afraid, paralyzed, and reactive to those literal and metaphorical winds, earthquakes, and fires.
How might we find the still point, the quiet, the silent space in which to hear the voice of God? What kind of practices of prayer, what grounding in community and faith, what discernment of action will help you recognize the voice of God in the midst of chaos?
The God who spoke out of the silence and chaos of Creation, the God who was courageously silent in trial before state-sponsored execution, the God whose wind and flame broke over the earliest Christians and breathes in us now, is present in the midst of the noise and fear. We, like Elijah, get to find times of retreat and stillness in order to let our souls be nourished by that sacred, spacious quiet.
Peace,
Susan+