Why, God, did you remain silent?

The tricky thing about faith is that it’s a belief in a God that isn’t very vocal. Sure, holy texts reveal that God spoke to prophets and common folk, but when’s the last time you heard of God talking to Joe Blow in the modern day? Have you seen a burning bush, lately? Some days I long for a Monty Python-esque hand of God to come out of the clouds; it would sure beat quiet introspection and meditation.

God becomes a sticky subject when tragedy plays out, especially en masse. Holocausts, genocide, disasters, wars, we wonder why God is mute. When Pope Benedict visited Auschewitz over the weekend, he was moved to ask “Why, God, did you remain silent?” Perhaps the answer isn’t in God’s silence, but in our resolute deafness to the signs.

When Hitler was in power, the evil was gradual. It started with speeches, then propaganda, then segregation, then disappearances. Did people know what was going on? Probably, though many people just didn’t notice. It was business as usual. By the time awareness crept in, it was too late.

When Rwanda’s genocide achieved momentum, we were deaf to the calls for help. It was a blurb on the news as we rushed to work, a bit during dinner time. Only now does the full horror of the murders really reach us, over a full decade later.

The same scenario plays out over and over again. History repeats itself more often than a bad burrito. We hear about horrible violence and monstrous acts, often too late. We embrace inaction because we don’t know what else to do.

We see photos of atrocities every day, so many that we become immune. And yet God’s silence is deafening — the sound of blood beating through your ears. Is it really that God is silent, or are we just not paying attention?

God’s vocal chords are humanity. If we remain silent, God remains silent as well. Pope Benedict wonders why his God, my God, didn’t speak up during the Holocaust, but the answer is clear: God was screaming. Every person beaten, every shot fired, every child and parent gassed was a cry out for help that was smothered before it was heard — suppressed by fear.

Why, in present times, does God remain silent? We see war crimes, torture and monstrous acts every day and they just keep coming. We don’t live in Nazi Germany, but some still remain quiet in their fear. Fear for their jobs, their families, it makes no difference. There are voices clamoring above the masses of pop-news, though, to get the truth out.

If you think that God is silent, just raise your voice.