"As the World Turns"

“The Father uttered one word: that word is His Son: 

  and He utters Him forever in everlasting silence…

  and the soul to hear it must be silent.” 

- the 16th century Spanish mystic 

St. John of the Cross.

So many things are happening in our world, with such rapidity, change and uncertainty - that it is needful for the soul to take moments of quiet to hear what is really at the center of things.  Sometimes, nothing speaks more loudly than silence.  And what is at the center is a word, the Word become flesh…and that Word is love.

As we turn the seasonal calendar to December and Advent, I can hardly believe we’re already focusing on Christmas.  Each year it seems to come faster and faster (but that may be because along with each of you, I’m getting older and older).  I used to wish I could slow things down and keep people from putting up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, but I gave up that desire long ago.  When I began to see signs of Christmas going up in stores and on people’s homes a few weeks before Halloween, I realized it is a losing battle altogether.

Advent is a time of waiting, preparation and anticipation.  And I remind myself that I can’t change the world around me anymore than I can change things on the other side of the globe. But I can attune my spirit to a word which was uttered beyond time for all time…and my world can be changed.

This year our Advent Sermon Series is called: “As the World Turns” and will include the following:

Dec. 4 “Snow that Grows”

Isaiah 55:10-12 and Psalm 147:5, 8, 15-18

Dec. 11 “Receive the Power”

John 1:6-13 and Colossians 1:15-20

Dec. 18 “A Transforming Word”

John 1:14-18 and Philippians 2:1-8

Dec. 24 “Were You There?

(Christmas Eve)     Luke 1:1-20     Candle Light, Lessons, Carols and Special Music

Dec. 25 Celebrating Christmas Day

“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth…”  And so it was.  And so it is!  This Advent let’s take time amidst the chaos, confusion, and concern of our world and the busyness, bustle, and bombardment of the season to quiet our souls to hear the silently uttered word…and remember…that Word is a part of us as well.  From the insight of the Trappist Monk, Thomas Merton:

“God utters me like a word, containing a partial 

  thought of himself.  A word will never be able 

  to comprehend the voice that utters it.  

  But if I am true to the concept that God utters 

  in me, if I am true to the thought in him 

  I was meant to embody, I shall be full of God’s 

  actuality and find God everywhere, and find 

  myself nowhere.  I shall be lost in God.”

Shhhh!

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This piece originally appeared in The Wave on November 30, 2022.