Today's Psalm 29 began as a paean to the Canaanite deity Dagon and was adapted by the psalmist. This is at a time when Israel is moving from monolatry (worship of one god amongst many) to monotheism (worship of the one God.) In our text God communicates through several dramatic phenomena, which is to be expected, as the ancient Semitic deities were seen to get the word out through such pyrotechnics. There is some of this in the biblical depictions of Sinai and Pentecost.
However, central to our tradition is the notion that God communicates by speaking. Our Hebrew scriptural reading today [Gen. 1: 1-5] reports God saying "Let there be light" and it was so. Of an especial importance is that this utterance occurs three days before creation of sun, moon, and stars. There is a divine light more fundamental than photon waves and particles!
Throughout Scripture, we find YHVH continuing to communicate through speech. That is often reported as a miraculous phenomenon, as in today's Gospel [Mk. 4: 1-11] where Jesus receives baptism from John the Baptizer and then a heavenly voice is heard confirming Jesus' divine sonship. But equally significant are those many times that God speaks through the voice of his agents. For example, the prophets of old heard God's message and called Israel back to her roots. When the prophet Ezekiel seeks out God in wind, fire and earthquake, he detects God in a small whisper!
Priestly blessings and sacramental acts are a primary way God also speaks. The ancient Aaronic Blessing ("The Lord bless you and keep you..") is recorded in the Scripture alongside assurances that those who receive priestly blessing are thereby receiving God's own blessing. In today's epistular reading [Acts 19: 1-7] Saint Paul encounters disciples of the Baptizer and he proceeds to administer sacramental baptism, bringing them into the Church. Then he confirms them and they receive the Holy Spirit. These same actions of baptism and confirmation are performed today by priests and bishops, using the prescribed words --- the Divine thus speaking through human agency.
Likewise Christ speaks by proxy in the other Sacraments as well: calling God's blessing down on couples committing to each other in marriage, assuring the penitent through words of God's own forgiveness, and at the altar even today I speak divine words,"This is my Body, this is my Blood," that we may all receive the One who is our heavenly food.
Lastly, but quite importantly, God speaks through the discernment of individuals, communities and God's Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and, in so doing, allows us to stay in tune with unfolding revelation --- to discern truth in the Scriptures, which themselves are human writings full of factual and scientific errors and contradictions. Yet human writers were the chosen medium, and we beneficiaries hear the legitimate voice of God in the Bible even in the midst of a lot of static and interference and the sadly human temptation to literalize, historicize, and even worship a holy book.
Thank God that we hear and continue to listen for God's voice in our lives and world, and to respond in humility, faithfulness, and love.
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