When the Noise Fades…
We begin our reflection series on Heroes and Saints. This week’s reflection is from the wisdom of a hero of mine: Howard Thurman
“When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart.”
I thought it fitting to begin the reflection today with this quote as we come off of the holiday season. This poem, though inspiring, may feel challenging to some as it invites the reader into tasks that may feel too daunting or even impossible to imagine how they can participate. Thurman’s poems and writings have often been useful for my own reflective practice, offering both comfort and challenge as I seek to live with intention and purpose. These words from the twentieth-century mystic, theologian, and philosopher Howard Thurman compel us to pause and reflect on what it means to embody the spirit of Christmas beyond the season. The New Year is often filled with rushing back to work, attempts to create new healthier rhythms, or quickly finding words or resolutions to be a type of anchor for our lives throughout the year. With these enduring temptations or pressures to fill our days with productivity and self-improvement, I am sure Thurman would encourage us to find time to slow down and be silent.
In his writings, Thurman often emphasized the importance of stillness as a means of connecting and cultivating a deeper awareness of ourselves and the world around us. He understood that silence is not simply the absence of noise but a sacred space where transformation begins. In this space, we are invited to listen—not just to the voices around us, but to the voice within that calls us to a life of meaning and purpose.
He invites us to listen to our inner selves and to become sensitive to our own soul. He believed that every person has a distinct inner voice and that listening to the voice was crucial to self-discovery. To him, ignoring or suppressing the voice would lead to alienation and inauthenticity. I too believe that much can be accomplished when we choose to slow down, be silent, and listen. Yes, there is much that can be accomplished by the work of our mouths, hands, and feet. However, our mind, hearts, and souls guide that work, therefore we must attune ourselves to what Thurman called the inner voice and abide accordingly.
There was a moment in life when I found myself at what felt to be a significant crossroad. I knew that it was time to transition from the pastoring position I held at a church. My love and concern for the people I served led to a lot of anguish in my mind and heart. The weight of that decision felt overwhelming, and I needed time to reflect and discern my next steps. The leaders of the church were gracious enough to allow me to spend a few days away at a friend's cabin in northern Arizona to reflect and return with clarity. I remember the first day feeling like a detox from the loud voices of society and culture, from the constant noise of the city, and even from my own inner restlessness as I was in the quiet woods alone. During that time I became more aware of myself. The second day I knew that I needed to begin some sort of process of reflection and discernment to return with a thoughtful plan of action. As I sat down for breakfast, the song “The Final Countdown” played as part of a TV ad, and for some reason, it struck a chord. I chose to create a bracket (March Madness style) of different options that would determine my future. I listed each potential path I could take, then wrote down all the pros and cons of each option. To make it more objective, I assigned a score to each pro and con, using a scale of 1 to 10 to reflect their importance or weight. Whichever option had the higher cumulative score would win that “round” and move on to the next stage of the bracket. As I worked through this process, I anchored my scoring system in a quote from Howard Thurman that had long inspired me: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” By the end of the day, the bracket exercise not only clarified my practical next steps but also gave me a sense of peace and self awareness.This process of decision-making became more than just a tool for clarity; it became a deeply spiritual experience.
Words cannot fully express all what happened inside me throughout this process. I not only became more of myself, but I began to experience a closeness with God. It was as if I had positioned myself, vulnerable and bare, before God, allowing my truest self to come into full view. After this experience I found new meaning in when God proposed the question to Adam and Eve, “Who told you that you were naked?” I began to understand it not as a question of shame, but as an invitation to authenticity—a call to shed false narratives, expectations, and fears that keep us from being fully alive. There was much that was accomplished in that time of silence and discernment, not only in making decisions about my future, but in setting me on a path of doing and seeing things I never thought possible. I hope we all accomplish things we never thought possible this year. Beginning by stepping into spaces of silence and vulnerability, where we can truly encounter ourselves and our Creator.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
What feels impossible for you right now?
How do you create space in your life for stillness and silence?
Have you ever ignored or silenced your inner voice?
What are ways you can slow down, listen, and align your work with what makes you “come alive” this year? How can this approach guide you toward accomplishing what once felt impossible?
