Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s Inaugural Faith Brunch
Rev. Laura Everett, Massachusetts Council of Churches
A reading from 1 Kings 19
“At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LorD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” ” He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.”
Here ends the reading.
The Lord was not in the wind. The Lord was not in the earthquake. The Lord was not in the fire.
But after the fire was sheer silence. And then, only then, could Elijah hear from the Lord.
If we are really and truly honest, some of us thrive on chaos. I say that as one who is indicting myself. But while our God will not abandon us in the storm, God is not in the storm.
If we are to survive the days ahead, hear me, beloved Boston, if we are to survive the days ahead, we will have to seek out the silence to hear from the Lord. Because there is plenty of chaos. There is an administration who uses chaos as a strategy of division. If we are to survive the days ahead, we will have to seek out reflective silence because what worked before will not work again.
The silence of hush harbors, the silence of Quaker meetings, the silence of shiva and musar -guarded speech- and Buddhist meditation. The silence of Eucharistic adoration and the silent murmur of the 99 names of Allah.
Reactionary is not revolutionary.
We need to reflect on if we have the right people around us and wise strategy. We cannot do that when we are being reactionary. We cannot do that when we are battered by the storm. God will not abandon us in the storm, God is not in the storm.
In my Christian tradition, yesterday we celebrated the feast of the desert mothers, Sarah, Theodora and Syncletica of Egypt Desert ,Mothers, 4th-5th century. The wisdom of ancestral Black Christian women of Egypt.
So often we talk about the forefathers. Especially in Boston. But we need to name also our foremothers. The Ammas who shape us.
Amma Syncletica taught us back in the 5th century
She wrote, “if you find yourself in a place, do not forsake it to go to another place, for that will harm you a great deal. Just as a bird who abandons the eggs that she was sitting on prevents them from hatching, so too a monastic grows cold and her faith dies when she wanders from one place to another.” If you are here, devote yourself to Boston.
She wrote, ” It is possible to be a monastic in one’s mind while living in a crowd.”
Beloved Boston, it is possible to hear the voice of God in the city but only if we listen together. Only if we are reflective, not reactive. Only if we plan and pray and prepare, together. In ways we never have before.
God is not in the earthquake.
God is not in the wind.
God is not in the fire.
God is not in our chaos and division, Boston. They are coming after all of us.
Our prior efforts will not be enough, Boston. So, we either get right with one another or this whole ship goes down.
“And after the fire, a sound of sheer silence.”
Here ends the reading.
RevEverett 