The Sound of Silence

The Sound of Silence

Years ago, Paul Simon wrote a song called “The Sound of Silence”.  In fact, it was just a couple of years after I was born.  But until recently, the words didn’t come alive to me.  This song seems prophetic in many ways to our society. 

Now that I see it that way I cannot hear it enough.  It’s as if God has opened this song up to me, unlocking it some how for me to understand.  I’m going to share what I hear in it, in hopes that we all get the same message from it.  Because after hearing the words through what God has revealed, I cannot be silent.

Hello darkness, my old friend

Darkness, absence of light, Christ being the “light of the world”

I've come to talk with you again
            Speaking to the darkness, the evil of the world.

Because a vision softly creeping

Softly creeping, quietly sneaking in

Left its seeds while I was sleeping
            We sleep with our eyes wide open, ignoring what goes on around us

And the vision that was planted in my brain

Then we awake one day to see the world around us as it is
Still remains

And just as this won’t shake from my head when I hear the song, it remains.

Within the sound of silence

And I stayed silent about it for weeks now.  I stayed silent. Muzzled by fear of what? Being told I was ridiculous, out of my head, a “crazy Christian”.

In restless dreams I walked alone

The vision began by being alone, walking in the night, the evil of darkness

Narrow streets of cobblestone

Streets that were old, had been paths for many others who remained silent

'Neath the halo of a street lamp

A street lamp that seemed to provide some light, if only in one place.

I turned my collar to the cold and damp

No one wants to see the sin and evil, we turn up our collars to not feel it.

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light

Stabbed – you can’t get away from the pain.  Neon light.  Commerce, business, the things we strive for without even knowing why.

That split the night

Wide open we are now, not asleep.

And touched the sound of silence

Yet no one was heard.  Not a word.

And in the naked light I saw
            Naked light, revealing all we don’t want to see.

Ten thousand people, maybe more

Humanity, all in one place

People talking without speaking

Expressions on the faces as we look at each other with every look except love.

Words from t-shirt slogans, tattoos, and even facebook posts that we judge by.

People hearing without listening
            We hear what we want to hear, see what we want to see, and dismiss the rest.

People writing songs that voices never share

We never share what is on our hearts, our songs, because…
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools" said I, "You do not know

God finally speaks, and calls us all fools
Silence like a cancer grows

The more one of us is silent, the harder it is for any to not be silent
Hear my words that I might teach you

We don’t want to hear him that we’d be wiser.  We’re content to be silent and not truly live lives that can matter.

Take my arms that I might reach you"

With all He has, He tries to reach us with outstretched arms.

But my words like silent raindrops fell

His words are given daily, written for all to have and all to know.  He’s open to communication through prayer, but…

And echoed in the wells of silence

It goes unheard because Christians like myself are “wells of silence” where those drops of rain fall, and lay silent.

And the people bowed and prayed

We all pray to someone or something.  But often our prayers to God are not about what matters to Him but about what matters to us.  We fail to even speak of His will, and ask for that change in our lives that cause us to truly LIVE.

To the neon god they made

We pray about the things that are neon, not real light, but artificial.  Not God, but worshipped as if they were real.

And the sign flashed out its warning

In the words that it was forming

And the sign said, "The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"

Graffiti often spells names of those that want to be heard, want to be known.  They spell out a need to be loved.  They spell out slogans and phrases that we use to try to be socially accepted.  They spell out loneliness.  They spell out a lack of hope due to a lack of faith.

And whispered in the sounds of silence

…and still we remain silent.

God bless you all, be with you all, and show you His unfailing love.
Love One Another.