The Stillness is Weird

This morning, sitting in our living room sipping on my morning coffee, I noticed the traffic on our street is rather light. Our house is situated on a hospital route - ambulances drive past our house with lights flashing frequently - and just up the hill from our driveway is a major thoroughfare for Arlington. Every morning as I walk back from taking Camden to the bus I hear the familiar (and calming?) nose of horns honk because someone is on their cell phone and did not notice that the light had turned green. Pedestrians are usually yelling at a car for failing to yield the right of way to the person crossing the street.

When we first moved to Arlington I was warned about this noise. “You’ll get used to it, after a while” I was told, “but it will drive you nuts.” Lucky for me our bedroom window opens to the backyard. While Camden’s room is on the front of the house, dude can sleep through anything (seriously, when the Capitals won the Stanley Cup I lifted him up, shook him in celebration, and he continued snoring).

It is never still in Northern Virginia. We live three miles from Washington, D.C. and stillness had escaped us for nearly three years. There is always something to do; always a festival, concert, or sporting event to attend.

All of that has changed.

Things, they’re still here.

Stillness is weird.

Stillness invites us to be present in what’s happening right in front of us, without worrying about catching an Uber to the Kennedy Center or meeting friends for happy hour.

In a world of constant movement, the stillness of what’s happening right now - social distancing to flatten the curve - has left many of us with our hands in the air, not quite sure what to do next.

“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” - Psalm 46:10, NRSV

Stillness is a difficult thing, especially when we are searching for answers to questions we may never figure out.

Social media (Facebook in particular) has been a dangerous place for one’s anxiety level over the past few days. Post after post attributing the coronavirus to the wrath of God. The gist is (according to the posters, not me) that we are being punished for the sins of and we’ve had this coming because we have allowed to go unchecked. More often than not these blanks associated with a political stance and not sin.

“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” - Psalm 46:10, NRSV

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that God did not cause the coronavirus. We are not being punished for the sins of .

I know how people can default to a wrathful, revenge-seeking version of God when times are difficult. “If only we prayed more,” they say to themselves or, “if only those sinners weren’t so sinful.” It’s easy in the stillness we find ourselves in to read more into scripture than is there and to ignore the full revelation of God’s word in Jesus Christ.

Many of us are trying to figure out where God can be found in the stillness we find ourselves in. When we ask this question, where is God, we are asking where is Christ? Where is Jesus in the stillness we that have been thrust into?

Christ is with us. Wherever two or three are gathered in his name, we are assured of Christ’s presence. Christ was present yesterday when many gathered for worship online, a new venture for many congregations. Christ is present today with hospital workers, doctors, nurses, and technicians who are working to prevent the spread of this virus. Christ is present in nursing homes and grocery stores. Christ is present in my basement, as I write this while Camden does his school work.

In the stillness we find ourselves in, Christ is present.

Many of us want answers to why we are in this stillness. We want answers to why this stillness doesn’t feel peaceful or still at all. Karl Barth wrote, “When we are at our wits' end for an answer, then the Holy Spirit can give us an answer. But how can He give us an answer when we are still well supplied with all sorts of answers of our own?”

This stillness is not a vengeful God seeking retribution for , nor is this God punishing you for something someone else did. That’s not how this works. But in this stillness, we can pause, and listen for the answers we have been calling out for. We can listen to God in these uncertain times because God has promised to not abandon us in our trials. God has assured us, in and through Jesus Christ, to be with us, always.

“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” - Psalm 46:10, NRSV