\nYesterday morning, as I meandered from one thought to another, the \n Job 23 as a counterpoint to the proverbial wisdom tradition in which you will have a good life if you do right.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \n Job's friends marshalled all the arguments of proverbial wisdom in an attempt to set Job right.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n How did Job know that he was righteous? Aren't we all less than \n I don't think that I've ever been plunged in the \"dark night of the soul\", that Jobian darkness.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The silences in Yosujiro Ozu's films came to my mind. The previous \n The choir had just sung Ich harre des Herrn, meine Seele harret, und ich boffe auf sein Wort<\/em> from Bach's Cantata 131 (BWV 131) (Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir<\/em>.) (Out of the depths I cry to thee, o Lord. Lord, hear my voice!). What suitable accompaniment to the day's sermon.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n All this reflection makes me once again deeply aware of my own \n In the face of such vulnerability, we need to live in the here and now and live in hope.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \n Jesus provide his own share of odd silences. Eg., with Lazarus, Mary and Martha.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n In Bach's St. Matthew Passion, Jesus is ostensibly one of the star \n In the face of global suffering on mind-staggering scale, how can I not expect to suffer too?\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \n In silence, we \"face the reality of our own mortality\" (ML)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \n Milosz expresses the transience of the moment with poignancy. See, for example, Czeslaw Milosz - Poetry: Encounter<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday morning, as I meandered from one thought to another, the words “Be still, and know that I am God” registered on my consciousness. As I quieted myself, I found a clarity of mind and focus of action that I … Continue reading
\nwords \"Be still, and know that I am God\" registered on my
\nconsciousness. As I quieted myself, I found a clarity of mind and focus
\nof action that I am wont to attribute to divine action. Silence on my
\npart is often a prerequisite for communing with God. What happens
\nthough when God is not be found -- or to be heard -- when we actively
\nsearch for God, whether in quiet or in silence? The theme for
\nyesterday's sermon at First Pres Berkeley (based on Job 23<\/a>)
\nwas precisely such silence of God. Mark Labberton's sermon induced the
\nscribbling of a lot of quotes, questions, phrases, pregnant phrases on
\nmy notepad. Let me share a few: <\/p>\n\n
\nrighteous? Is that type of righteousness what Job was thinking about? <\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\nday, Laura and I had just seen silences in Ozu, who came to my mind
\nbecause of our seeing Café Lumière<\/a>,
\nHsiao-hsien Hou's tribute to Ozu. I found a lot of Hou's silences
\nunbearable, while Ozu's silences were illuminating. Why is that? Are
\nsome of God's silences unbearable while others are illuminating? <\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\nacute vulnerability. God does not explain or even justify His silences.
\nHe provides no satsifying answers other than the ultimate, eventual
\nassurance that things will be set right....eventually. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\nsingers. Yet he doesn't sing very much. At the beginning, he sings
\nbeautifully, reassuringly. Then he falls silent very soon into the
\nPassion. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n