This week’s holiday called us to remember the life and witness of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and yet, if we’re honest, for many of us it often passes as little more than a day off work or school. Remembering Dr. King in ways that truly engage his faith, courage, and challenge to the church takes more intention than simply marking a date on the calendar or sharing a quote. And at the same time, our church continues in our sermon series The Courage to Follow. Now, I must be honest, the holiday overlap was not part of the plan. And yet, as I reflected on writing this week, Dr. King’s life and ministry kept coming to mind. His legacy speaks directly to the kind of courage we are wrestling with together: a courage that does more than speak or act…it listens. And listening to God requires listening to the pain of the world. We must listen long enough that what we hear shapes how we move and take action.
This Sunday’s scripture comes from 1 Kings 19, where the prophet Elijah encounters God in an unexpected way. You see, Elijah has just experienced intense confrontation and a public victory. And yet, immediately afterward, he finds himself depleted, afraid, and ready to give up. So, he flees into the wilderness, where God meets him… in the silence. Not in loud movements of nature [wind, earthquake, fire] but in what scripture calls “the sound of sheer silence.” Elijah’s story reminds us that sometimes courage looks like pausing and paying attention because our world is so very loud. Not just in sound, but in constant demands on our attention: social media alerts, 24-hour news cycles, endless opinions, and the pressure to react immediately. There is a relentless pull of distraction and urgency.
Perhaps this is why one of my favorite practices from teaching in Montessori is something called “making silence.” Children are invited to deliberately quiet their mouths, minds, and bodies and to pause, notice, listen, and reflect. Perhaps many of us grownups, too, could benefit from this practice. Intentionally cultivating silence helps us hear God, perceive the needs around us, and discern our next faithful steps. Creating silence does not disconnect us from the world’s pain; it helps us notice it more clearly and respond more faithfully.
In his recent letter, United Methodist General Secretary Bishop Julius C. Trimble calls the church to remember what Rev. Dr. King named decades ago as “the fierce urgency of now.” Bishop Trimble reminds us that global conflict, the erosion of civil rights, and the great harms being inflicted on immigrants, LGBTQIA+ youth, people with disabilities, and those living on the margins of society demand our attention and action. Responding faithfully in the face of such urgency does not mean acting impulsively, recklessly, or without discernment. Listening first is not inaction but can help us refrain from reckless reaction. Listening must result in courageous, thoughtful, and faithful action. Rev. Dr. King understood this well. His leadership was not reactive for reaction’s sake. It was rooted in prayer, reflection, communal discernment, and a deep attentiveness to God’s justice and love. He listened to the experiences of those most impacted by injustice. He listened to the wisdom of the Black church. He listened to Jesus, even when Jesus’ call to love enemies and reject violence was dismissed as weakness. Listening like that requires courage, and it must lead us to action. Listening and acting are inseparable in faithful courage.
Plus, in his letter, Bishop Trimble reminds us that the church has been here before. Methodism has long held together personal faith and social holiness, believing that salvation is never only individual and justice is never optional. From the Social Creed of 1908 to today’s Social Principles, United Methodists have affirmed that following Jesus shapes both our inner lives and our public witness. But that witness becomes distorted when it is separated from listening…listening to God, to reason, to experience, to scripture, to tradition, and importantly, to our neighbors.
In many ways, Elijah’s story holds all of this together. It suggests that God often speaks most clearly when we stop trying to control the moment, name our fears and fatigue, and choose to listen first instead of assuming our immediate reaction is what must be done. Zora Neale Hurston wrote in Their Eyes Were Watching God that, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” I believe that this year carries both for us. There are questions that are urgent, complex, overwhelming, and they demand a response. But by quieting the noise that surrounds us, even for a moment, we allow space to hear God more clearly, to seek the throughlines of love and justice, and we better prepare ourselves to act with courage, clarity, and compassion.
May we be a people who have the courage to slow down enough to listen…and then brave enough to follow through with faithful action.
