Worship Guide - 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? What is it about the silence that Elijah knows God’s voice will be present there? 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.

​Is it any different with us? Nonsense and deceptive speech, wise counsel and reasoned conclusions compete in the same marketplace. In this moment of technological flux we can find whatever voice we want to justify what we want to believe. But what good is that? How do we find that quiet center, that wise counsel, that shared welfare that lets us thrive?
 
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

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