Listening To God: Fall 2006 Final Chapel

All semester we've been talking about "Listening to God" in English chapel. Each week we built upon a period of silence within the chapel. The hope was twofold: first, we wanted to practice listening to God and second, we needed an element in chapel that was not linguistically driven. Most students really struggle to understand English and the language of worship complicates their already limited understanding. We hoped that they would find it easier to meet God by creating a space not driven by English.

The first chapel at the beginning of September started with one minute of silence and today, the final chapel, we sat in awkward silence for 10 minutes. Each week I looked forward to the awkwardness because in it I found how much I needed (and need) such empty space. It really wasn't empty space! As I sat there I realized how full my life is! I'd sit there aware of my anxieties and worries. I became aware of my stress. My mind flooded with thoughts of what was coming next in chapel and questions about "if we were doing the right thing". Often I would meet the Spirit and find what was really important but sometimes I wouldn't.

I don't know if we succeeded in our journey together. But I'm not sure it is about succeeding anyway. It wasn't up to us. We created the space and the Spirit was present. That is what I'm confident in. I hope that there were students who allowed God to work in them.

In our preaching we explored the narratives of Elijah, Isaiah, Samuel and Eli, Ruth, John in Revelation, Jesus and the parable of welcoming the stranger, Ezekiel and Moses. We looked to these Biblical people to learn something of how they listened to God's voice. We asked, "What position were they in when they heard God?" and "How might we take a similar position in our context?"

I know at least a few students got something out of our English sermons. Yet, I think I received a whole lot more from our communal practice of listening and looking at the Christian narrative. In the end I see that listening to God's voice happens. It happens: when we take the noise out of our lives, when we worship, when we say, "Here I am", when God is our place of refuge, when God is our King, when the Christ in us sees the Christ living in others, when we ruminate and live in His word, when we give God our attention, when we look where God looks. Man, this could be a book!

Each week when I or someone else would get up to preach I'd pray, "Lord help them to hear you!" If they did hear God, they really heard God because the words we spoke in our sermons often fell to the ground with little understanding. This semester more than any other time I've become aware of the Spirit's role in the discipline of preaching. Preaching requires the Spirit to speak to human hearts. If I remember nothing else this semester, I hope I remember each time I get up to preach that the most important voice people need to hear is His voice. Lives are transformed and renewed when His voice speaks and people listen.