Sound of silence

from Helen

I have been here for 5 months and in this time you will have had a chance to get to know me, to make decisions of what type of person I am. I am sure that you have all noticed that I am not a chatty person at all and that I am very quiet, never saying a word .... Ahem.

Strangely I do actually appreciate silence and quiet, and so moments to reflect and to be quiet are important to me. The one thing that singles out silence is its importance and how hard people can find it. As we remember today on this remembrance Sunday we will take a moment of silence to give thanks, to remember. I think that we all need time to stop, and to think. It  always sounds daft to say, but there really is a sound to silence, in silence we find a new peace, in silence we are able to really stop and think. 

Silence has a sound and it is golden, it is a sound that carries with it our emotions, our dreams, our remembering. 

It seems almost ironic that we remember in peace events that were certainly not peaceful. Either in the preparation for the events, or in the actual event.

Our readings this morning have all spoken of one thing, and that one thing is the end of time. It is the end of everything we know and the preparation for this time does not sound at all comfortable. Silence is far away, there is talk of turmoil and uncertainty.

In the reading from the book of Malachi (4:1-2a)  we heard of people longing for the day of the Lord, believing that it would be peaceful and perfect and that all who had done wrong would be destroyed. This sounds very violent and not at all peaceful but there is peace for those who follow a better way, The gospel reading (Luke 21:5-19) spoke of the ways that nations would rise against nations, of the ways that life as we know it would be disrupted, there is no sign of peace in this reading except there is a promise that the believers would remain safe, they were not to be terrified.

This week we have seen a new president elected for the USA, we will all have opinions of Donald Trump and it is sad that on Wednesday I got asked in two different primary schools if this meant that World War 3 was on its way. People are scared, there is panic mongering going on and as I read the gospel for today I was reminded that we are not to be terrified because even when we suffer God is with us, and (sorry Ian !) not a hair of our head will perish.

There is turmoil all around us, but we still have the hope for Jesus to come again, for the world to be different. 

Remembrance Sunday is one of those Sundays, when we think of what has been and we hope for something new, and something better, when we hope for the silence of peace, when we hope for a time without turmoil and uncertainty. 

Ian and I once went on a coach tour of Colditz, Dambusters and the Great Escape.  It was a really interesting tour, as was our trip the year prior to this to Normandy and the beaches that were used in the D day landings.

There is a great problem with these type of tours though, and that is that whilst I would be upset by the graves of so many young men lost in war, it was all a distance away, it was a remembrance whilst we could still think of peace.  There was the feeling that the futility of some of the lives lost was not in vain because peace now reigned.

I am not suggesting for one moment that any death in war is futile, nor am I suggesting that it was wrong to have a war, but what I am aware of, and I am sure all of us are, is that peace certainly does not seem to be the order of the day. We only need to switch on the news and we can see everywhere that the peace which we hope and pray for does not reign supreme. That for many silence is far away, and there is turmoil and uncertainty.

People are feeling how unpleasant turmoil is in our World, perhaps in our lives, in the lives of those we know and love, in the lives of those that we see on T.V. or read about in papers.  It does feel like the end of time, peace is not around and the preparation is uncomfortable. Silence seems far away.

However, into all this it is our duty to speak peace.  As believers we are called to follow Christ the peace maker, and to think about what this means in our lives and in the lives of those around us.  To speak peace, to hope and pray for a better way is one of the best ways in which we can truly honour those who have lost their lives in the service of this country.

Despair, families suffering as a result of war is here and now. This is not a historical event but by looking for peace we are looking for a way to continue to make the reality of freedom and hope that was fought for a reality in our lives. 

God is the giver of all good things, He knows our need, He knows our need for an end to turmoil and uncertainty, He knows our need for silence.  He knows our need for peace. This peace is not far away from us, if we stop and reflect and pray for God’s help. If we stop, reflect and pray for God’s help then we can bring peace to those around, and then we can truly pray for our World.

May we be ready to stop, reflect and pray for silence and an end to turmoil and uncertainty. AMEN.