The Sound of Silence

The Sound of Silence

“Rest” is probably not the first concept that comes to mind for most people when they hear the word “worship.”

But writer Kelsey Kramer McGinnis says that “Worship Can Sound Like Silence and Feel Like Rest.” The second annual Liturgy Collective Gathering is an example of this, McGinnis writes. The conference will “prioritize rest instead of hype, community instead of crowds.

Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

While these leaders are primarily considering what it looks like to bring rest into corporate worship, their insights shed light on rest in our daily, individual worship of God as well. For example, McGinnis and conference leaders point to Marva Dawn’s description of Sabbath rest which includes “ceasing, resting, embracing, and feasting.”

Maybe a period of rest is simply two minutes of driving without turning on music or a podcast. Perhaps it looks like standing barefoot in the sunshine, simply experiencing God’s creation. It could be a candlelit dinner with friends or a long overdue nap.

Worship in daily life can include music and conversation and prayers spoken aloud. It can also encompass the quiet, making manifest the words of Jesus who encouraged all the weary and heavy-laden to come to him, that he might give them rest.