Second Friday of Advent

"The LORD said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.' 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

God speaks in Silence

Many people believed that the Messiah would come with a great army to overthrow the foreign rulers of Israel and establish a new and powerful kingdom. Many people also believed that Elijah, one of the greatest of the Hebrew prophets, would return to announce the coming of the Messiah. But Elijah's own experience of God's power was unexpected.

God was not in a mighty wind nor in a powerful earthquake nor in a raging fire. No, God was in "a sound of sheer silence." Elijah experienced the great mystery of God's presence, a mystery that would take flesh in Jesus, in the silence of a Bethlehem night.

Jesus was not a military leader, yet by His suffering, death and resurrection, He triumphed over death. His victory came in the silence of a tomb on Easter morning.

God of power and might, You speak to us in the silence of our hearts and You tell us of Your love. May we listen to Jesus the Word made flesh, and love You in return. Amen.