“But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”
Ingmar Bergman is a celebrated Swedish filmmaker. He tells the story of how one day he was listening to the works of classical composer Igor Stravinsky. As he was listening to the music, he began to daydream about a 19th-century cathedral. He said that he found himself wandering around the great building and then finally standing before a picture of Christ. Realizing the importance of the icon, Bergman said to it, “Speak to me! I will not leave this cathedral until you speak to me!” But of course the picture didn’t speak. That same year—1963—Bergman produced a film entitled The Silence. The movie is about characters who despair of ever finding God because He is silent.
But Bergman’s problem was that he was looking in the wrong place. God is not silent. God speaks volumes. But His voice is not found in an icon in a cathedral. Rather, His voice is heard in the words of the New Testament. The New Testament is God’s full and final revelation.
Do you want to hear the voice of God?—Then read the words of the New Testament! Do you want to know what God is saying to you today?—Then read the words of Christ!
Augustine said, “When the Scriptures speak, God speaks.”
From Doug Lyon’s Sermon: Can You Hear Me Now?