The Voice of God

Jan. 8, 2012

Gen. 1:1-5;  Psalm 29;  Mark 1:9-11

What is more delightful than the voice of the Holy One calling to us?   (Rule of Benedict, prologue)

I wonder about the gospel readings that tell the story of Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke each tell similar stories, while John’s version does not tell of John actually baptizing Jesus.  John has been told that the one on whom the Spirit descends is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.  John says Jesus is the one, the Son of God.  His version doesn’t speak of the heavens being torn apart, nor of the Spirit in the form of a dove, nor does he mention hearing a voice from heaven, all of which are found in the other gospel readings.  The gospel writers all believe Jesus was baptized by John and something happened that seems to indicate something special about the person and the occasion. 

So, I wonder about this story, and more specifically, I wonder about the voice that says, You are my son, the Beloved.  With you I am well pleased.  Who heard this voice?  Did everyone who was there hear the voice or just a few?  Was it a voice that only Jesus heard and later told his disciples about it?  Was it the ear of his heart that heard this voice from heaven in midst of quiet baptismal waters dripping off of him? None of the gospel writers who record this voice speaking were witnesses to it.  John, who could have been there doesn’t mention a voice.  Was it an inner voice of affirmation at his becoming a rabbi?  Did it sound like a human voice and if so was it male or female, old or young?  What language were the words?  Were there words or a sense of language or something like speaking in tongues?  Was it the thunder as clouds parted after a storm, or before a storm while at the same time a frightened bird came looking for a safe place to land, and the coincidence of these things was received as a God-incident?

I wonder about being away from the noise of the city, in a deserted place, in a space where there is an openness to the things of God; signs, voices, feelings, thoughts.  How might the voice of God be heard when one is listening for the voice of God?  At the dawn of creation, the first day as recorded in Genesis, there is the notion of some sort of form of God, like the wind, ruach, breath, spirit, intangible, moving and alive and somehow had a voice to speak and vision to see what was becoming of light and darkness.  Similar to the deserted place of Jesus baptism, the formless void and darkness was a landscape of emptiness.  Into that space comes a voice.  Who or what heard it?  Or could it be that the creation processes within the mystery of the unknown somehow heard and responded to that that which was calling it into being, a voice without words, but an urging and encouragement of life to become?

The singer-song writer, David, the beloved shepherd king of ancient days, heard the voice of God also.  Psalm 29 is his ancient song of the voice of God in the great storms that rumble in the heavens and stir up the mighty waters and catches even the mighty cedar and oak trees hanging on for dear life. It was in fierce landscapes, in wilderness spaces that David heard the powerful and majestic voice of the Holy One calling, that caused him to stop, listen, hear, and worship.

How is the voice of God heard today? or is it silent? or is the voice of God heard better in silence?  Is the voice of God heard only through Holy Scripture or through ordained clergy or institutions of religion?  Does God speak in English or Greek or Hebrew?  Is God limited to words?  Does God need a speech translator?  With the cacophony of sounds and voices that bombard our hearing how is one to decipher the voice of God from all other voices calling out to us?

The lectionary readings for this day all share hearing the voice of God in spaces outdoors, away from the usual noise, in the wildness and wilderness places of life resonates well with me.  Another song of David reminds us that, the heavens are telling the glory of God, the sky itself proclaims God’s handiwork.  Day to day pours forth speech and night to night declares knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.  (Psalm 19)  I hear the voice of God in the still darkness of the night, in the full moon that baths the woods with light, in crisp fresh wind, in the first light of dawn and the rising of the sun, bird call and rich fragrance of decaying leaves, in the snow fleas and pounding waves, in first buds of spring and winter’s snowy blanket, in hoar frost, and rivers.  All the natural world speaks of God and for God.  It is the voice of God calling forth life and beauty and inviting our attention.  What is more delightful than the Holy One calling to us in all creation speaking words of wisdom, a delightful invitation for us to listen and hear and respond. This is the first epiphany of God. And yes, in the landfills and garbage piles, in oil spills, in depleted and contaminated aquifers, in mercury-laced fish, polar ice melts, smog alerts, and species now extinct, even there the voice of God speaks.  Where isn’t the voice of God speaking?                        

What is more delightful than the Holy One calling to us? I believe what is more delightful is that the Holy One is heard, that there are holy listeners waiting for and anticipating the voice of God.  Elijah the prophet heard God in the sound of sheer silence because he was expecting to hear God.  Perhaps our 21^st century problem is that we don’t expect to hear much from God anymore.  We don’t listen for voices, and people who hear mysterious voices are suspect.  We no longer anticipate that we may encounter God whenever and wherever we are and through whoever cross our path.

I trust that God’s voice can still be heard if we open the ears of our hearts and minds, and have the eyes to see that the Holy One is everywhere, calling life into being, calling for love.  In the garden and the workshop, on Capitol Hill and the homeless shelter, on the highest peaks and oceans depths, in rocks and artistic masterpieces, in music and dance, in the local news flash and the World News Tonight, in the CIA and in Greenpeace God is speaking still.  The question is, are we listening?  Or, is the volume too high in all the noises of our devices of communication and of our endless talking that we have developed a hearing loss?

It use to be before the digital and push button age that you had to tune-in to a radio station, adjusting the dial to hear clearly.  You had to twist and bend the TV antennae for clear sight and sound.  Sometimes, you had to work hard, listening carefully, in order to hear correctly.  Today we don’t want to work that hard.  We practice tuning out what we don’t want to hear or put on head phones to block any sound but what we’ve chosen. 

In the midst of all the sounds and noises around us and within us, may we begin to listen again, anticipating the voice of the Holy One calling to all to life.  May we hear that we are beloved and that our live are pleasing to the Giver of Life.  May we respond to the Breath of Life that wills us into becoming.  Joining the great symphony of life may we join in the voices of all the earth and share in calling forth wondrous life as well.  May we hear and delight in the voice of the Holy One calling to us in each moment.