The 4 Chapters #7
Silence in Four Part Harmony

By Contributing Author, Robert Shashy

So, it’s been a little while. A lot has happened both personally and in within the Church calendar since I last wrote an article for The Four Chapters. I feel bad because I had hoped to look in greater detail how the LORD fulfills Jesus’ prayer for unity between believers and unity of the Church and God. Instead, life happened. Easter was celebrated, the Ascension and Pentecost were remembered, I graduated from seminary, wept for the death of a beloved role model and I am currently discerning how the LORD will use me and provide for me now that I have answered His call and been equipped for ministry. In all of this, I learned that there are still lessons to learn when God’s will does not meet our expectations.

The Prodigal Prophet

Throughout this past Lenten season, I read the late Tim Keller’s book by the same name as this section. Dr. Keller walks through the book of Jonah chapter by chapter to reflect on how modern Christian’s act in similar manner of unbelief as the prophet. While not Dr. Keller’s best work I’ve read, I encourage you to read the book if you are looking for that will challenge you personally about tribalism within (American) Christianity. It’s also a good read for a broad reflection on the focal text. That said, my intention here to reflect on what I learned about myself in the weeks leading up to my previous article and the closing months of my seminary training.

Jonah, as both the aforementioned book and my classes at RTS taught me, was a fairly prideful man. In Jonah 1 the prophet directly defies God by running in the literal opposite direction of the mission field God was calling him to. Then, when asked to identify himself on the ship, he proudly boasts “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9), implying that God is only God to the Hebrew people. In these early verses it is clear that Jonah both understands and misses his missional calling. He runs away because he understands that God is showing mercy to Ninevah that the prophet would forewarn them of impending doom. At the same time, he misses that such mercy comes from God’s love for all people. Texts such as Psalm 19:1-6 and Matthew 5:45 teach us that God’s general blessings are for all people—saved and unsaved. Furthermore, John 3:16, Acts 10:34ff, 2 Peter 3:9 and other texts tell us that God is not partial to any people group, but, instead, is patient with all that salvation in Christ would be a global reality and not a special event for one nation. Jonah 1 concludes with a mix of repentance and self-loathing on the prophets part.

Jonah 2 is a clear example of Jonah’s connection to God. These are the only words within the book that portray with sincerity that Jonah was repentant for his pride. But, at least for a time, that sincerity is brief. Jonah obeys God’s commission in chapter 3, proclaiming the coming wrath upon Ninevah. By chapter 4, however, Jonah is again angry—even to the point of wanting to die. As he waits for God’s judgment to fall upon Ninevah there is a back and forth between Jonah and God where God sends a mix of uncomfortably and provisions for Jonah. Then the book ends with what I continue to argue is the most deadpan portion of Scripture as God expresses His general love and mercy for the people of Ninevah and their livestock. This summary is brief—again I encourage you to read Dr. Keller’s book for a fuller treatment of the topic, but I bring it up with a few clear points to be made.

First, I think a LOT of American Christians are like Jonah in that they conflate their pride in being American with a part of who they are in their faith. This problem needs a whole article dedicated to it, but I didn’t want to remain silent on this takeaway when 1 Peter 2 makes it explicitly clear that the Christian’s citizenship is first found in heaven, and we are to consider ourselves sojourners and aliens while in this world. Second, the ending of the book of Jonah seems abrupt and odd because there is no conclusion to the story. God’s just wrath does not come to Ninevah until Nahum’s prophecy roughly a century after Jonah’s mission trip. Whether we seek blessings or justice, God’s timing is not our timing, but He never fails to faithfully act. Furthermore, the book ends without a conclusion of how prideful Jonah took God’s final rebukes towards him. Its in the silence that we can make a likely conclusion. The only persons within the tradition of the Bible being written who would have known all the details about Jonah’s mission trip were God and Jonah. Certainly, God could have given some oracle to another author to write down, but it seems just as likely that as Jonah returned to Isreal and reflected on what God had said he again repented of his pride and faithfully recorded the events—even to his own defamation. It’s an argument from silence, but one that I have found a number or credible scholars have accepted is the actual conclusion of the events of Jonah.

My final conclusion came to me in the week of seminary graduation. I am an inverse Jonah. Where he had deep seated anger that caused him to run from God, I have wrestled with crippling sadness that has often kept me from running to or for God. Yet it is God who does the calling and equipping. We are the ones that must faithfully go. There is a lot we can learn from Jonah, especially from the silence in the book.

Graduation Day

As I sat in the chapel at RTS Orlando on May 15^th I started considering how I could still salvage my original idea to write about Pentecost, since it was still about a week away, and incorporate my appreciation for everyone who helped me through seminary. That was over a month ago now, and honestly both getting to graduation and the celebration of graduating blend together with everything that has happened since then.

I won’t go into great detail here, but since my elderly grandmother was joining us to celebrate in Orlando, and I needed to be at the seminary fairly early on the day of graduation, figuring out how to get everyone on site and awake was a little tricky. Staying at a hotel was not an option, but with some cooperation from the RTS staff I was able to address some requirements the Tuesday before, and I am very glad I actually attended my graduation. Perhaps, if not for the realizations about myself having reflected on Jonah I would not have made as much of an effort to attend.

“17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. 18 And when they had come to him, he said to them,

“You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”

Acts 20:17-24, NASB1995

The focus of the graduation address is that nobody asks to go into ministry. Nobody asks to deal with the broken parts of ecclesiology. Nobody ask to be the one to heal the hurting and clean up the sin-stained underbelly of the saints on earth. At least this is true of nobody until they meet Christ. Acts 20:17-24, the focal passage of the commencement address, makes it clear that it takes the work of the Spirit to humble the servants of Christ to serve His Church. I boast in Christ alone that I have been made more humble, more wise, more loving and so on these past few years. And it is not because of anything I attribute to myself, but because the same Lord who called me out of public-school education is the one who equipped me and has prepared me for ministry. There were a lot of moments where the Lord seemed to be silent during seminary. But He was working on me and through more people than I may even know. I’ve been working on finally expressing my gratitude towards everyone who played a notable role in my completion of seminary.

So thank you Mom and Dad for providing a place to live and food to eat long after I probably should have lived on my own, for helping me study and for providing me with love. Thank you Gammy for helping me to afford my classes, pay my bills, see the Lord work through me and again providing more love than any amount of money can buy. Thank you Tim for being my pastor and mentor. Thank you Lindsey and Andrew for prayers and encouragement. Thank you to all of the RTS staff and professors who helped me, especially Lanny, Christina, Rev. Osborne, Dr. Allen and Dr. Lints. Thank you to my church family at MPF, especially Mickey and the youths for whom I now labor. There are many more whom I am sure I can thank, but I would be remiss if I did not also thank Nate, Bryn, Carolyn, Lydia, Emily and Alyson for opening your home to me many times so that I can take my exams, editing my seminary papers, sharing this space online to blog, being co-laborers in Christ and being my family in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I thank the LORD for each and every one of you, for without your contributions to the LORD’s work in my life I would not have completed my seminary training.

Forever Rowdy

Graduation day would become special for another reason. Upon returning home from Orlando and dropping off my mother and grandma, my dad and I picked up some dinner and I tuned into the NASCAR Craftman Truck Serie’s Ecosave 200 to watch Kyle Busch save. He won. It was is his 69^th truck series win and his 234^th in all of NASCAR’s national touring series. The following Sunday I fell asleep watching the all-star race which was also held at Dover International Speedway. Had I known it would be Kyle’s final timing competing in a NASCAR event I ensure you I would have stayed awake. It was a national news story, so I’m sure you are aware that Kyle Busch would die the following week from sepsis at the age of 41.

For me, Memorial Day weekend was supposed to be a big celebration of automotive sports and a celebration of Pentecost. Instead, I didn’t know if I would watch a race again. I was a fan of Kyle Busch since I was 18 years old. Growing up I rooted for Dale Earnhardt Jr., because he was my dad’s driver. But as I prepared to go my own way in college I decided I needed to pick my own driver to root for. I distinctly remember picking Kyle because he was the villain of the sport to Carl Edwards as a sort of Sharrif figure. I remember watching Kyle sweep the weekend at Bristol for the first time. I remember watching him save his car in the shoot-out at Daytona shortly after I transferred to the University of Florida. I remember when he broke his leg at Daytona a few years later, and therefore not being able to see him compete when my dad and I went to Talladega in the spring of 2015. I remember how he won the championship that same year, shorty after I started working as a public-school teacher. I remember his second championship shortly after I got my second chance at going to seminary. I remember so many other moments of his future hall of fame career. For a time, I almost certainly idolized him, and in recent years he has remained a sort of role model in pursuing excellence in whatever I may do. Right now, about a month removed from losing him, it’s still hard to write this section.

I can’t imagine what his wife, children, parents and brother have been through, along with his teammates, sponsors, competitors, fans and so on. So much has already been said about Kyle Busch’s greatness on and off the track. I won’t try to add anything more. I will say that at times the LORD seemed silent on why this tragedy occurred. It seems like Kyle’s death was easily preventable. So many iconic moments that were meant to happen could still happen—I know Kyle would have won again in the number 8, and he would have become the first to win a championship in all three national series. God doesn’t owe any of us an explanation. Job 38-42 make that clear. Somewhere I accepted that God won’t tell me why he took my favorite athlete suddenly. Yet, through a podcast that Kyle and his wife Samantha made weeks before his death, I at least have evidence to believe I will see Kyle Busch again in heaven. I’ll miss you Rowdy.

Holy Forever

But when I get to heaven, I don’t think I’ll go looking for Kyle Busch. I don’t think heaven will be silent either. For all will sing with joy to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 14:1-5). Whether, Kyle, or my faithful brothers and sisters who helped equip me for ministry, or the prophet Jonah or whoever may be there. We will all be united in praising our Savior to whom we will be bound forever in the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9).

To answer the question, I had intended to answer when I concluded my last article, Jesus’ prayer is answered in the coming of the Holy Spirit. John depicts this in his gospel in chapter 20:19-21 as happening shortly after Jesus’ resurrection. Luke reports in Acts 2 that Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit occurred shortly after Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Why the two NT writers differ is a topic for another day. What is clear in both accounts is that, with the Father, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to empower His people to do the work of His kingdom. All believers are united together as temples for the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The Bride of Christ is united to each other in kingdom work through the Holy Spirit. Paul explains this further in passages such as Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 12-14. But Jesus’ prayer that His people would be united with God is also made possible by the Spirit. For in being a temple of the Spirit, it is God Himself who lives in each believer. I earnestly desired to go into further detail on this topic, but, the LORD’s will for my life these past couple of months has led me to write what I have written.

Silent, Not Distant or Still

Having graduated from seminary, grieved the loss of Kyle Busch and entering the long days of summer. I now find myself discerning the Lord’s will for me in vocational ministry. Even there God’s less than clear. I know I love serving the youth at my church and I want to see my 6^th graders graduate high school. I know Jesus is using me to work in the heart of some non-believing friends. I know I want to be close to home so I can care for my parents as they approach their 70s. I see and believe that Jesus is working through me and for me. But how I can continue to labor and afford the expenses of life remains unspoken. That’s where I take comfort in what each section of this article has taught me.

Recently, while scrolling through social media, I saw a post where another Christian was making the point that just because it seems like God is silent it doesn’t mean He is far from us or isn’t working for us. Indeed, He didn’t plainly say to Jonah that He would judge Ninevah in a hundred years or explain why Jonah had to go through the frustrations he did in order to humble himself. Yet, God’s silence worked towards allowing Jonah the humility to write down his journey. Similarly, God hasn’t given me an oracle as to why I experienced certain ups and downs between graduation and the death of Kyle Busch, but each event is a part of God’s purposeful plan. And the disciples of Christ watched Jesus die and then rise and ascend to heaven without a timetable for the arrival of their Helper, the Holy Spirit. But He showed up, and we have clear accounts of the amazing work that have happen within Christianity and human history thereafter. Now too, whether in my looking for vocational ministry, or whatever trials or unspoken blessings may be happening in your life too, even if Jesus is silent, He is still working. He is ruling and reigning from heaven now. In John 16:16 Jesus promises that we will see Him again in “a little while.” That may seem like forever. Yet, He is with you in His Spirit. Your Heavenly Father has worked out all things for your good. There is no more fitting conclusion than Paul’s encouragement from Romans 8:

“26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:26-39, NASB1995

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About the Author

Robert Shashy was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Catholic school from kindergarten through the 12th grade, and was devoted to weekly church attendance. While at the University of Florida, he began attending Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) meetings, and deepened his relationship with Christ. He remains compassionate towards practicing Roman Catholics, and believes Reformed Catholicity is key to both the American and global Church. He recently graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary (RTSO) with an MA in Biblical Studies, and is an aspiring church leader. Robert feels called by Christ to contextualize American culture to help the Church in sharing the Gospel in the 21st Century, and to inform modern Christians of who the Bible says they are, what society says about them, and how to follow Christ’s lead in those crosswinds. In his free time, Robert is a hobby board game enthusiast, and he looks forward to the day when the Church again embraces her roles of being a safehouse and a hospital.