TUESDAY, January 3

1 Kings 19:9-18. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

The snow this time of year reminds me of when I lived in Boston. The morning after a big snowstorm, I would wake up to the sound of silence. The rest of the year, I hardly noticed the endless sounds of brakes screech- ing, horns honking, and car alarms ringing. But on mornings when it had snowed, those sounds were muffled or altogether absent. Sometimes I wondered if it was the absence of noise that woke me up. I noticed the sheer silence.

At Horeb, the prophet Elijah was waiting for the Lord to pass by. He expected the Almighty to come in a big way, to make his presence known in power and strength. Yet God did not speak through the great wind, the earthquake, or the fire. It was in the sound of sheer silence that the voice of God was heard.

We live in a noisy world. If not the noise of city traffic, it’s the sounds of cell phones, televisions, and computers. Even if we are able to still these other sounds, we have the noise of our busy minds. I know that sometimes I need to simply sit—or take a walk—in sheer silence. It is often then that I know the presence of God.

PRAY for Abakaliki (Province of the Niger, Nigeria)

Ps 68 * 72; Ephesians 4:17-32; John 6:15-27

View the daily Lectionary Readings at http://satucket.com/lectionary/

Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com or Oremus Bible browser.

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