12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 7), Year C

​When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?... Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.
~Luke 8:28,30
 
[God] said [to Elijah], “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.
~1 Kings 19:11-12
 
So. Much. Noise. So many voices.
 
It is constant, this cacophony of sound. Why does Legion shout if not to be heard above all those voices in his head? And what is it about the silence that signals to Elijah that God’s voice will be present there? The noise in our own time seems especially chaotic and disorganized—fake news here, wars and rumors of wars there, a cacophany of hard to navigate claims of one kind or another. Nonsense and deceptive speech, wise counsel and reasoned conclusions compete in the same marketplace. And, if we know anything, we know we aren’t well. We know the kids aren’t alright.
 
But it isn’t just us.  Atlantic staff writer Ed Yong notes that humans, by flooding the environment with light and sound, have confounded the senses of countless animals and drowned out the cues they depend upon to survive. How do we find that quiet center, that wise counsel, that shared welfare that lets us thrive, and all creation with us?
 
Enter into worship.
 
Readings: 1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a and Psalm 42 and 43 † Isaiah 65:1-9 and Psalm 22:19-28 † Galatians 3:23-29 † Luke 8:26-39
 
About the Art: Sounding Silence, Richard Tipping, 1998. Granite blocks, engraved and finished with goldleaf. Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania. Collection of Launceston City Council.  https://richardtipping.com/artworks/public-art/sounding-silence.html [retrieved June 16, 2025]. 

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