Silent Wednesday

Last updated on: April 17, 2019 at 12:20 pm by Matt Pearson

Silent Wednesday 2019-04-17T12:20:45-05:00 Matt Pearson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Wednesday of Holy Week is known as “Silent Wednesday.” The Gospel writers do not record any words or activities of Jesus on this day.

Tonight, at the Church at West Franklin, we will have a Silent Prayer Service, meditating and contemplating the 7 sayings of Jesus from the cross.

In the meantime, consider the importance of silence for the good of your own soul.

Alan Noble, in his Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age, offers this counsel:

“With quiet reflection, our desires, fears, beliefs, doubts, and sins are given space to surface, but none of these define us. They may describe a part of our person at a particular moment in time, but only a part, and only for a time. . .When we look inside and find abiding sin, the guilt of that sin takes us to the cross, where the One who took that guilt upon himself forgives us. When we look inside and find gratitude for a life we have been taking for granted (because diversions also rob us of our joy, as well as our misery), that gratitude draws us upward to God in thanksgiving. And when we look inside and reveal suppressed anxiety or dread, we can explore the source of that dread, knowing that the God who provides the peace that passes understanding loves us. In contemplation, we know ourselves in relation to God, and as we grow in the knowledge of God, his truth interprets us, granting us deeper knowledge of ourselves.”

What can you intentionally do today to preserve the honor of Silent Wednesday by being quiet before the Lord?

Again, Noble offers a couple of helpful suggestions:

“A practical, achievable step we can take toward reclaiming our attention and creating some space for reflection is to cut down on filler distractions. Make dinner without listening to a podcast. Use the bathroom without bringing your phone. Walk upstairs without checking Twitter . . .

Stop seeing â€œunproductiveâ€ time as a problem to be solved and instead open yourself up to the possibility of undirected thought. (bold, mine)

A habit like this can allow you to see Godâ€™s creation anew, to process experiences, to reflect on sins, to be grateful. Most important, such a habit is an embodied claim that ‘redeeming the time’ for the days are evil means redeeming it for God, for his glory, not for profitability, productivity, efficiency, or plain busyness. How on earth can we redeem each moment for him if we are so absorbed by the next thing that we forget he exists at all?

Another practical way to adopt a habit of reflection is to make prayer and meditation on the Word a daily activity. The disciplines of praying and reading the Bible center our attention outside of ourselves and on a conception of existence that transcends a material world. . .We can easily turn these Christian disciplines into just another activity, if our time of prayer and meditation on the Word takes the posture of defense and closure to Godâ€™s voice, conviction, and the Holy Spirit. None of us consciously do this, of course, but we do unconsciously approach the Holy Word of God and the throne of God without the fear and trembling and thankfulness that befit a people who believe that this book is divine revelation, and that our prayers rise up to a living God who loves us.”

Again, what can you intentionally do today to preserve the honor of Silent Wednesday by being quiet before the Lord?

Don’t waste the silence today. “Be still and know. . .”

General Challenge

Previous Post

April 16, 2019

Tuesday of Holy Week

Next Post

April 19, 2019 Good Friday: What We Owe the Disciples

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Biblical Reflections Devotions Fridays are For Illustrations General Challenge General Preaching Resources Letters to West Franklin Preparing to Preach Table Talk Questions The Preaching Event Top Ten Quotes Uncategorized West Franklin West Franklin Talks

Select a Month March 2023 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the father of John the Baptist?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Eli Zechariah Nicodemus Simeon