Passion Week Meditations — Day 4: Wednesday
Silence. Nothing sinks deeper into the soul than total silence. We need time apart from the noise, static, and rush. Time to meditate. Time to think. Time to pray. Wednesday of the Passion Week gets no space in Scripture — not a word. After Tuesday’s confrontation, controversy, and conspiracy Jesus and His disciples must have been drained physically, mentally, emotionally, and perhaps even spiritually. How do you feel today? Are you ready for the coming observance of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection?
When Pharaoh and his chariots trapped Israel against the shore of the Red Sea, Moses told his people, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:14 ESV). Oh, but it’s so hard to be silent when it seems that all is lost and there’s no escape.
This day of silence gives us time to reflect, time to read again the events of the previous three days. They began with loud shouting and joyous celebration; they ended with shouted questions and angry words in the temple and even around the evening meal in Bethany. Yesterday closed with Jesus telling His disciples the woman’s anointing of Him will be remembered “wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world” (Mark 14:9).
The house in Bethany falls silent on Tuesday night. The confrontations might have left the disciples a little frustrated or even angry. Have the psalmist’s words come to their minds?
Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts, on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the LORD. (Psalm 4:4–5)
As Jesus lays His head down to sleep, what does He pray? Or, as at other times, does He rise and spend part of the night in prayer on one of the nearby hills? Silence. We do not know.
Every river trip and every hike in Grand Canyon offers opportunities to experience silence in a world very different from where we normally live. Whether it’s contemplating the contrast between creation and judgment in the geological evidence at the Great Unconformity in Blacktail Canyon, or waiting in the early morning silence for the first song of the canyon wren to lift our praise to the Creator, the silence is golden.
Today half of the world is in lockdown against the coronavirus. Many streets are empty. Turn off the TV news. Sit silently before your open Bible. Wednesday of Passion Week is silent. Join the silence. Wait quietly on the Lord. Ask those deep questions: “Where is my faith?” “Why do I refuse to forgive?” “Why don’t I spend more time in prayer?”
Pray those simple, silent prayers: “Lord, forgive me for my sins.” “Jesus, help my unbelief.” “Father, calm my anxious heart.” “Spirit, put new songs in my heart in praise of my Savior.”
Wednesday. Thursday’s coming. Are you ready? Listen to the Lord: “Be silent and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
— Dr. Bill Barrick
