TRANSCRIPT:

As followers of Jesus, we want to surprise the world by living our lives as ones sent to announce the reign of God. There are five habits of highly missional, sent people.  The first two habits of highly missional people are to bless and to eat, both are external, others-focused work that aligns with God’s mission to love our neighbors.

The third habit, listen, is an internally focused practice that connects us to the Holy Spirit, who gives us the gift of prompting, encouragement and knowledge to do the more external habits.  A healthy spiritual and missional life as a follower of Jesus includes both external and internal components.  Jesus knew this too and modeled it in his ministry on earth.

Here’s just one example from the Gospel of Mark 6:41-46:

⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And all ate and were filled; ⁴³ and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

⁴⁵ Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
Mark 6:41-46 (NRSV)

Jesus recognized the need for external work with others healing, teaching, blessing, and eating, and internal time alone with God. Jesus spent intentional time listening to God alone in his time on earth. 

Friends hear this even Jesus, God incarnate, Savior of the world, took time away to rest, to be silent to pray and to listen.  If our goal as Christ followers is to become more like Jesus, then taking time for silence listening to God is and essential practice. When is the last time you spent time in silence just listening for God?

I learned the value of silence firsthand when I encountered the time-honored tradition of silent night as a counselor at leadership training camp, also know n as LTC.  LTC is a senior high camp at Lake Poinsett.  At every LTC as long as anyone can remember, there is one night spent in silence, complete silence.  It was my favorite night of camp, because by that time in the week, I needed silence to recharge, reboot and listen for God. 

The youth and counselors are invited into the silence, in a worship experience designed by one of the cabins.  After worship we would descend the hill in silence, to a silent campfire by the lake, followed by silent devotions, (that often-included foot washing). The silence is broken the next morning, often by standing looking out across the lake and lifting your voices quietly at first in a song like Sanctuary.

Many of our youth find the silent night a scary proposition, but it soon becomes a time of deep blessing and learning where God has indeed spoken into their hearts saying you are my beloved. In our crazy busy society, this silent time of listening is perhaps the first time they have spent in true concentrated silence. They discover that the Holy Spirit can and does touch their sprits. Silence is beautiful because it leaves space for true listening. 

I have found it much more difficult to find real times of silence away from camp. It is a growing edge for me. Each of us must find our own path and plan for carving out this time for listening for God. I have found that for me, I must do my quiet time in the morning after getting ready for the day and before digging into my work. If I don’t do it then it just doesn’t happen.

It also helps me to quiet my mind for listening if my hands are busy.  So, it works best for me to do free writing, praying in color which is a doodling kind of prayer, or coloring in a scripture coloring book. This movement of my hands focused on something physical frees my mind to be more silent and not rush in to the to do list for the day.

It has taken me awhile to find this right time for me and establish a rhythm of finding silence.  Don’t be discouraged if you are struggling, just keep trying different methods and different times.

We all need to practice the habit of listening in silence. Learning to listen is a way we recharge, reexamine, and allow space for God to speak directly into our hearts and lives. The habit of making space to listen weekly, without distraction is not easy for our go, go, go culture to practice or priorities, but without this critical listening for God’s Spirit we will miss opportunities to surprise the world and surprise ourselves. 

So Church, your Jesus following homework is to spend at least one period of time each week in silence listening for the Holy Spirit’s voice and you will be blessed and ready to surprise the world.