God's Silence of Disapproval

Can you recall the childhood scene of a raised eyebrow, or a tight-lipped silence of your mother or father in response to your juvenille misbehavior? Such silence spoke louder than a verbal rebuke; it clearly communicated an act of judgment.

By just such an act of silent communication God often expresses his displeasure with us when we don't live up to his love-cushioned demands. Eleven centuries before Christ, the priests at Shiloh, Eli's sons, were treating the Lord's offering with contempt," and "in those days [the century marking the period of the Judges] the word of the Lord was rare" (1 Sm 2:17; 3:1). It will happen again amidst the end-time evils, when "men will stagger from sea to sea, ...searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it" (Am 8:12).

Bible scholars have suggested that Jesus sin-convicted the accusers of the adulteress by silently writing their sins in the dust (see John 8:6-8). God doesn't pout and he doesn't shout, but he does clearly convey his displeasure to those who disregard his promptings of grace, His "silence of disapproval" is gently corrective and effective.

If the Lord's "silence of disapproval" (not condemnation) sees to tyrn your prayers into monologues rather than dialouges, perhaps you are not fully responding to this gentle grace-nudges. Doesn't his silence merdivully enable you to hear your conscience?

This excerpt is from the book One-Minute Meditations for Busy People, by John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., originally published by Servant Publications. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/video recordings can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408 or www.Catholicbooks.net