I was recently reflecting on how Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus until He called out to her at the tomb. At first she supposed Him to be the gardener (Jn 20:15-16). Likewise, His two followers on the road to Emmaus did not recognize Him until He broke the bread at their table (Lk 24:30-31).
We know that extreme sadness, depression, stress, and many other factors can interfere with our cognitive capacities. Perhaps this was a factor in these two cases. Still, given the amount of time Mary and these men knew Jesus, how is it they did not recognize Him?
I think there is a deeper message here for all of us.
Noise and Silence
Mother Teresa once reminded us that “We need to to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.” John of the Cross also said that “It is best to learn to silence the faculties and cause them to be still, so that God may speak.”
Certainly we have all experienced the rattling noise of a lawn mower, a cheering crowd, or a busy urban street. Likewise, we have all enjoyed the peaceful quiet of a library or the relatively peaceful sounds of nature. The noise and silence spoken of by the two saints above, however, is not this. It is more of the spiritual variety.
We can, for example, be sitting in a quiet forest yet wrapped up in the noise of our financial or family issues. Similarly, we can be at great internal peace even in the loudest street. Physical noise and silence have relatively temporary, temporal implications for our mind, ears, and comfort. By contrast, spiritual noise and silence most often have very long-lasting and eternal implications for our soul and destiny in Christ.
Sources of Spiritual Noise
The restlessness, doubt, fear, and despair that Mother Teresa is speaking of generally come from our own response to the world around us. Oftentimes, what happens to us is beyond our control. However, how we respond to what happens to us is the game changer. Therefore, one can conclude that the true source of spiritual noise is how we interact with and respond to the noisy world which offers us a daily dose of toxic, self-absorbed lies.
To the degree that we buy this worldly noise, we cannot possibly hear God speaking to and reaching out to us. To the extent that we need to hear ourselves expressing, we cannot ever hope to absorb what Our Lord is expressing to us. St. Faustina is quoted as stating that “A talkative soul lacks both the essential virtues and intimacy with God.”
Source of Spiritual Silence
We know that God is found in the silence of the soul, heart, and mind. If Love is God’s currency, then silence is God’s vehicle of love. It is only when our heart, mind, and soul embrace the silence and peace of God that we are then able to discern and recognize what God is guiding and urging us to do, feel, and believe. We can only love to the degree that we listen, first to the other and then to ourselves.
Too often, we do not hear God because we are too wrapped up in our own agenda or concerns. Too often we are too busy with the temporary, petty, and relatively superficial things of this world.
We need to take time to be alone with God. We need to reflect on and apply Scripture to our lives in lectio divina. By making Him the center of our lives, we will cultivate a better awareness and capacity to hear God.
There is also a path or catalyst which can take us from our spiritual noise to the spiritual silence we need to hear God.
Give Me a Break
Just as the two followers recognized Our Lord by the breaking of the bread, so too will we only be able to recognize Christ in our lives when we allow our distortions, misconceptions, and fixations with ourselves to be broken.
All too often, we are like stubborn metal. We are fixed in our own shape and perception of how things should be and how we fit into that equation. Quite often, we create perceptions of ourselves and others and then embrace those perceptions. We refuse to allow God to soften and shape our hearts, souls, and minds as best serves Him, others, and ourselves.
Like Mary and the two travelers, we may let the noise of fear, doubt, and despair prevent us from recognizing Our Lord. Often, it is only when we embrace God breaking us down that we can hear Him call and shape us toward our best purpose and destiny. In a sense, we need to allow the flame of God’s will, love, and call for us melt our stubborn metal into the shape we need to most effectively serve our purpose in the eyes of God.
Conclusion
Our Lord loved us so much that he allowed himself to be broken on the cross for our salvation. As followers of Christ, we need to be willing to break ourselves for the sake of God and others.
It is only when we are broken of the poisonous and destructive myths and preoccupations of this world that we will free ourselves of the noise that prevents us from hearing Our Lord’s call. It is only then, when we have broken ourselves of ourselves, that we will be able to repeat the words of Samuel as urged by Eli “Speak Lord, for Your Servant is Listening” (1 Sam 3:8-9).
