Few of us like getting the ‘silent treatment’ from those that we care for. Silence can sometimes be a painful expression of relational tension and even cutoff. The flip side of silence and solitude is that it can be an important key to personal and spiritual growth. We live in a noisy cluttered hi-tech world where silence is often hard to find. Choosing silence can increase our ability to hear the still small voice that is trying to get our attention. Jesus was often going off into the silence of the wilderness to be alone.
Recently my wife and I watched Martin Scorsese’s gripping new movie Silence. It was based on Japan’s leading novelist’s book which tells the story of a seventeenth-century Portuguese priest in Japan at the height of intense persecution. The recipient of the 1966 Tanizaki Prize, it has been called ” Shusaku Endo’s supreme achievement” and “one of the twentieth century’s finest novels”. Endo tells how the Japanese Christians once numbered 400,000 and had enjoyed great favour even in the Japanese inner circle. Then Christianity was outlawed, resulting in drownings, burnings, and other atrocities. The priests were under great pressure to publicly give up their faith, in order to end the persecution of the Japanese Christians. The symbol of this persecution was being forced to tread with one’s foot upon the crucified face of Jesus. In a review by the New Yorker, John Updike described the book Silence as “a remarkable work, a sombre, delicate, and startlingly empathetic study…”
The author explores the image of silence where the priests had been painfully silenced. The most painful silence seemed to be the silence of God in the midst of the great suffering. The priest Rodrigues prayed: “Lord, why are you silent? Why are you always silent?” As the persecution intensified, Rodrigues prayed again: “Lord, it is time that you should break the silence. You must not remain silent.” Near the end of the novel, Rodrigues confesses to Jesus: “Lord, I resented your silence”, to which Jesus replied: “I was not silent. I suffered along with you.” The crucified Jesus whispered to Rodrigues: “I am with you. You have nothing to fear.” Another time, the suffering Jesus said: “I will not abandon you.” Rodrigues could not take his eyes off what he called the beautiful face of the suffering Christ. As Rodrigues ended upon trampling upon the face of Jesus, he heard Jesus say: “You may trample. You may trample… It was to be trampled on by men that I was born into this world. It was to share men’s pain that I carried my cross.” Rodrigues learned that Jesus’ silence was not absence, but rather expressed the mystery of his suffering love for all humanity. Could God’s sometimes mysterious silence be a sign of how much he cares?
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a personally signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
As a teenager, I first began skiing in the North Shore Mountains. Mountaintop views from Seymour, Grouse, and Cypress are often stunning. Mountains cause us to realize that the world is so much bigger than our compartmentalized life. They are a way to get away, to recover perspective, to remember who we are in the frantic busyness of North Shore life.
While I loved skiing the North Shore Mountains as a teenager, I still felt an inner emptiness. Something was missing that I could not put a finger on. I had no idea that I was on a spiritual journey. At age 17, in the final months of Grade 12, I had a mountaintop spiritual experience where I met God and within a week felt called to ordained ministry. My maternal grandmother and mother, who were more discerning than me, both knew already that I would end up as an Anglican priest. My plan had been to be an electrical engineer like my father. Instead I became a social worker before becoming a priest. As of this May, I will have been ordained now for thirty-two years.
I love the Anglican way, even with its challenges. I also deeply love the wider Church, with its rich interdenominational flavours. It is good to appreciate the strengths of one denomination, without being narrow or rigid about it. Anglicans do not have the corner on biblical truth, but we do have a contribution to make in the wider picture.
In January this year, I had the privilege of having a one-month mountaintop sabbatical. As I had done eight years ago, I went to a small cabin on top of Mount Sumas where I had the opportunity to spend time in solitude with God. Many people in the bible went to mountains when they wanted to deepen their walk with the Lord. Moses is one of the most famous examples. The Good Book tells us in Exodus 19:20 that “the LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up.” Moses spent forty days and nights with God face to face, coming down with the Ten Commandments. Mountaintops were also one of Jesus’ favorite places to pray (Mark 6:46)
While on Mount Sumas, I journaled on my IPhone what I was hearing from the Lord. While none of these impressions were ‘written in stone’, I sensed God speaking to me many times during that month. God reminded me many times that I am his adopted son, that I am loved and accepted. A prayer sabbatical is a wonderful way to slow down and just listen to the still small voice. God showed me that I don’t need to rush ahead of him, that he is in charge, and I need to surrender afresh to his will and purposes. While on Mount Sumas, God was renewing and refreshing my heart. Many times he reminded me of that original mountain top experience that I had with him in Grade 12.
My prayer for those reading this article is that we may be reminded that he is humble and gentle in heart, and that he loves to give rest to our souls when they are weary and burdened (Matthew 11:28-30).
The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin
-an article previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a personally signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
Few of us like getting the ‘silent treatment’ from those that we care for. Silence can sometimes be a painful expression of relational tension and even cutoff. The flip side of silence and solitude is that it can be an important key to personal and spiritual growth. We live in a noisy cluttered hi-tech world where silence is often hard to find. Choosing silence can increase our ability to hear the still small voice that is trying to get our attention. Jesus was often going off into the silence of the wilderness to be alone.
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Edhird's Blog 