Hebrews 12:18-24
18 You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 (For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
…and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them.
I was a student chaplain spending the summer working in a level 1 trauma center for children. To say I was out of my league would be a gross understatement, but I was still in the game. On this particular evening, I was sitting in a consultation room with a young mother. She hadn’t been told yet, but her son had died in the ER following a car accident. The woman knew why I was there, but she wouldn’t allow me to speak. “Don’t say anything. If you don’t say it, it hasn’t happened!” And so we sat together in that little room in silence. When the doctor came in, she began to scream at him not to tell her anything. He left the room and my supervisor came in to help me say the words that this terrified young mother couldn’t bear to hear…
There are times when God gives us word to speak that is so difficult that we can barely stand to hear it ourself, let alone tell it to someone else. This may be a call to confront a friend about their addiction, or to tell an authority figure that their actions are harming their workers. There are as many different possibilities here as there are human beings. Suffering with a difficult word from God for the sake of another is a uniquely painful privilege.
And then there are those times when God has a word for us that we can barely stand to hear it. Sometimes these painful messages from God are spoken by a dear friend. More often than not, they come from voices that we beg not to hear. As we grow in faith and practice our spiritual disciplines, our ears are opened to recognize God’s word, even when it hurts or comes from an unwelcome source. This is also a uniquely painful privilege.
Lord God: Your voice thunders over the waters and breaks the cedars. You are, indeed, awesome and magnificent! Open my heart to hear and receive whatever you have to say. AMEN