阅读经文 

以利亚在何烈山上，耶和华说：“我从那里经过”。然后就有烈风大作，耶和华却不在风中；然后大地开始震动，耶和华却不在地震中；然后，山坡上有火烧起来；但耶和华也不在火中；最后，在所有这些火烧、地震和山崩中，有耶和华微小的声音发出（或如希伯来文所说的，有“完全寂静的声音”—NRSV）。（参王上 19:11-12）

神把耶稣差到一个混乱的世界，一个疯狂的世界。我们知道这种疯狂。这是一个充满了噪音和动荡的世界。罗马军队挥舞着他们用来征服世界的武器，而反叛团体则大声疾呼要求自由。宗教派别争论着他们的教义分歧，而破碎的民众则发出痛苦的呐喊。

在这一切喧嚣中，神用微小的声音说话，差耶稣到我们这里来。祂看起来并不像救主。在世界的眼中，祂也没有什么了不起。即便如此，祂的仇敌和罗马人还是大动干戈来策划除掉祂。这一切的中心就是一个十字架。

耶稣受难那天下午，天暗了下来，直到耶稣竭力呼喊说：“我的神，为什么离弃我？” （参太 27:46）祂死的时候，又大声呼喊，气就断了，地也大大震动，磐石崩裂。因为神开口说话了。

Elijah was on Mount Horeb when God said, "I am about to pass by." Then a shattering wind started to blow. But God was not in the wind. Then the earth started to shake violently. But God was not in the earthquake. Then a fire started to blaze on the mountainside. But God was not in the fire. Then, with all this blazing, shaking, and shattering going on, God spoke in a whisper (or as the Hebrew text suggests, there was "a sound of sheer silence"—NRSV).

God sent Jesus into a mad world, a world gone crazy. We know what that's like. It was a world filled with noise and turbulence. Roman armies rattled their weapons of domination, while rebel groups raised their shouts for freedom. Religious factions argued their points of doctrine, while broken people lifted their cries of pain.

In the midst of all this racket, God spoke quietly (silently?), sending us Jesus. He didn't look like much. And in the world's eyes he didn't amount to much. Even so, his enemies and the Romans would orchestrate a spectacle to be rid of him. At the center of it all was a cross.

The sun went dark that afternoon, until Jesus cried out with all the voice he had: "My God, why have you forsaken me?" And when he died, crying out again and giving up his spirit, the earth shook and the rocks split. Because God had spoken.