We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Romans 8:22-27)
“Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.” So there you have it. Technically correct, but … I don’t really think that definition quite captures what we mean by sound. Sure, I understand that there’s a physical component to sound that can be captured in that type of technical language. But it still isn’t sound. It’s like describing a dog as a four legged animal. That doesn’t capture the feeling you have for the dog! And like dogs, sounds are about the feelings that they produce in you. Some of them are pleasant. Depending on your musical tastes, you might be moved by listening to a Bach concerto or the punk rock group “The Devil Dogs.” But whatever your tastes run to, either can be a moving experience. We listen to birds singing in the morning. Last weekend in Buckhorn, I listened to the call of loons across the lake at night as well as to the crackling of a bonfire and the laughter and chatter of children. All of which were wonderful. But then there’s also the sound of the construction that starts next door bang on 8 o’clock in the morning on the day you expected to sleep in, or the screeching of tires that makes you flinch at what might follow, or the wailing of a siren that startles you, or the wonderful sound of fingernails on a chalk board - a sound that makes me shiver a bit just to think about it! Sounds touch us both physically and emotionally, no matter how old or young we are. Sounds mean something. A little girl named Shaina wrote this poem in Grade 2:
Have you seen the sound of dark, mean thunder?
Or maybe the sound of solid, crystal wind.
Have you seen the sound of beautiful, sweet voices?
Or maybe the sound of leaves, carefully falling to the ground.
Have you seen the sounds?
If you haven't,
This is what they look like.
If you look close to where the sounds are coming from
Little tiny, diamond - shaped crystals float away from the sound.
They look beautiful in the dark sky,
Rolling away from you.
Down the hill
They become...
Invisible.
Shaina captures the idea of sound so much better than that technical definition I offered to open - wouldn’t you agree? Let me ask you: have you ever seensound? Maybe I have. I’m not sure. But I’ve experienced sound, and right from the beginning of creation, God understood just how important sounds were going to be, which is surely why we’re told in the Creation story that God created with the sound of a divine voice that spoke everything into being. Sound was around before we were around. And God still speaks. We believe that. Our sister denomination in the United States - the United Church of Christ - launched an ad campaign a few years ago using as the tagline the words “God is still speaking …” And that’s true. God is most certainly still speaking. - speaking tous and speaking throughus. But do we listen? Do we hear? That’s one reason I wanted to use the You Tube video for the reading of the Pentecost story. It gives a different sound to the reading than someone standing and reciting at a lectern; it reminds us of the power and drama and excitement of Pentecost - the coming of the Holy Spirit. Maybe it reminds us to listen - because two thousand years later God isstill speaking. The question, indeed, is whether we’re listening!
Maybe we don’t hear because we don’t know what to expect. What would God’s voice sound like anyway? The ancient Hebrews were terrified by the sound of God’s voice at Mt. Sinai and begged never to hear it again! I remember an episode of the old TV series “WKRP in Cincinnati.” Dr. Johnny Fever thought that he had heard the voice of God telling him to give up his gig as a radio disc jockey and instead become a golf pro. He talked to Mr. Carlson about the experience, because Mr. Carlson was one of the few people he knew who went to church. Mr. Carlson told him that God probably hadn’t said that because “if God wanted to speak to you you’d know what He said!” I don’t think so. Mr. Carlson was wrong. Many of us spend much of our lives working on discernment - trying to discern just what exactly it is that God is saying to us. It isn’talways that clear. Or there’s the story of Elijah, who expected to hear the voice of God in an earthquake or in a mighty fire, but who was surprised to discover that God’s voice didn’t speak through either of those mighty and terrifying events but only revealed itself through a gentle, quiet whisper. How easy it is to drown out an gentle, quiet whisper? How easy it is to let other sounds drown out the sound of God?
Two weeks ago I became interested in God’s voice - or in the sounds of the Spirit, if you will. If you recall, I preached on the story of Hannah - poor, tormented Hannah, abused and bullied, with nowhere to turn, who went into the temple and in great torment prayed her heart out - except that the sound was one of complete silence. I wonder if that wasn’t actually the Spirit of God speaking through her? We have enough evidence in Scripture to justify the belief that maybe the times when we have no words are the times when the Spirit is speaking most powerfully! Hannah prayed in silence, her lips moving but no sounds emerging, only to be accused of being pitifully drunk. But I wonder if the sound of silence wasn’t exactly the sound of the Holy Spirit, Who knew that at that moment and in those circumstances, what Hannah needed most was quiet respite? I wonder if just sitting and praying and moving your lips but making no sound isn’t a way of inviting the Holy Spirit to give you the peace and comfort you so desperately need? If you remember it worked for Hannah. Her spirits were immediately lifted. Silence isa golden sound sometimes. Quakers worship in silence. Did you know that. They gather together and they sit. No music. No singing. No sermon. No prayers. They sit. And they listen in the silence for the sound of God’s voice. And the silence is only broken if someone believes they’ve heard the sound of God’s voice and they want to share what they’ve heard. And sometimes the silence is never broken, and there’s just a moment when everyone understands that worship is over - and they leave, refreshed by the experience of listening. We, on the other hand, get uncomfortable with 30 seconds of silent prayer in the middle of an otherwise very verbal worship service. The Spirit speaks and the Spirit comforts in silence.
It wasn’t silent, though, on Pentecost. There was a sound like the rushing of a violent wind. You know what that sounds like. We have wonderful wind storms here in Port Colborne sometimes, don’t we. Do you ever listen to the wind howling and wonder what you’re going to discover when it’s over? The one thing we know is that something will be changed. Trees might be uprooted, shingles might be blown off your roof. It can be frightening and destructive. It can also be creative and beautiful. The desert is an ever changing landscape of sand dunes sculpted by the wind that blows uncontrollably across it. When the Spirit sounds like wind, we’re being changed; the Spirit is getting our attention. That’s the work of transformation from what we are into what God wants us to be. It’s not an easy process. It’s not necessarily painless - emotionally or physically. Unlike the sound of silence, it’s not comforting; it can actually be shattering - at least at first. When the Spirit comes like the rushing of a violent wind we don’t know what to expect. We just wait to survey the landscape once the Spirit stops speaking!
On Pentecost, the sound of the Spirit was also the sound of the disciples of Jesus suddenly breaking into the sounds of languages from around the Empire, even though they hadn’t learned the languages! What do we make of that? How is it even possible? How can you speak a language you don’t know? I don’t know of anyone who’s actually been able to explain this in a satisfactory way. The story stands there - unexplained, mysterious, amazing to all who heard it and bewildering to those of us who read it centuries later. And again, the same words that were expressed to Hannah in the temple - “they’re drunk.” But somehow, what was happening to those who listened, was that barriers were being broken down. Language and race and nationality didn’t matter anymore. The gospel was there for everyone; Christ had come for the world; His disciples had come with a message to all humanity. There could be - or at least there should be - no place for any feelings of superiority in the thinking of a Christian; the Kingdom of God was for all and was to be denied to none. Parthians and Medes and Elamites; Jews and Greeks and Romans; people from all parts of the Empire welcome to hear and be touched by the word of God. Canadians and Americans and Iraqis and Afghans. Europeans and Asians and Africans; people from all parts of the world welcome to hear and be touched by the word of God. Available to all; withheld from none.
And then Paul says, in today’s reading from Romans, that “we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Paul is probably talking here about that mysterious phenomenon most commonly associated with Pentecostal churches called “the gift of tongues.” But it’s not only for Pentecostals. I know United Church folk (good, solid, respectable United Church folk) who speak in tongues. Many people call it a personal prayer language. It sounds like babble; it makes no sense; it’s not a language - as we know it, anyway. It’s - well - sounds. Sounds that come deep from within and yet also far from above - the “groans” of the Spirit, reaching out to us when we just don’t know how or what to pray. Have you ever been in that situation? You know you should pray; you know you have things to pray for; but you just can’t find the words. Those are the situations Paul is talking about. Be open to the Holy Spirit and let the Holy Spirit speak through you. It doesn’t matter if you understand the sounds. It doesn’t matter if anyone else understands the sounds. It doesn’t even matter if someone looks at you and says that you’re drunk or crazy. They said the same things about Hannah and the disciples of Jesus. It doesn’t matter, because at that moment you’re communing with God. The Holy Spirit is interceding for you “with groans that words cannot express.” God never leaves us helpless. God even helps us to pray!
Sounds are all around us. They fill our lives. If they’re not there - we notice it! But there’s one sound above all others that we need to listen for and hear and experience and be touched by. The sound of God’s Spirit, speaking tous and speaking throughus, pointing us and others to the Christ Who loves us and gave Himself for us.
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