Silence

"It was in the silence, I heard your voice". Silence is the loudest sound in the world when you don't want it to be. It eats us inside as we desperately search for the voice of the Lord. We are perfectly satisfied with the silence of God when times are good, but we feel owed an answer when times of suffering appear. Without fail, we see the beautiful signs of God in everything in life when times are good, but the beauty is absent to our eyes in times of suffering. The idea of dying for what we believe in is not a new concept, as Man is stubborn by nature, driven by pride, and devoted to, whatever it may be, our faith. But the idea of others dying for our shared beliefs is disturbing to us, we believe in ourselves to keep the faith, and criticise others for their lack of faith but are quick to push others to let go of the faith, it's almost paradoxical. We can only absorb soo much suffering in our own lives, anothers is too much to bear. The foundation of Christianity is picking up our crosses as Christ did and accept the burdens that come with it. We are willing to accept and carry our own cross but at times push for others to let go of their own. Is it the "good" in us that doesn't want to see another's suffering, or is it God calling to us to protect one another?  The film doesn't give us the answer because there is no real answer for us. Rodrigues is a Jesuit Priest; a man of faith, deicated to find the man who nurtured his faith and save him from the persecution of Christians in Japan. Although meaning well, Rodrigues is a man driven by feelings. He sees God's love and plan for him with ease when times looks promising. He finds purpose in helping the suppressed believers in Japan. He believed God's voice was presented in his purpose. he loved the community and the feeling it gave him, however love can be blinding. When fears of persecution by the Inquisitor looms throughout the community, Rodrigues is quick to call for them to renounce their faith, allowing emotion to cloud his judgment, believing it would be better for them to be alive. However the Inquisitor wants to kill the roots for the tree to fall. Altough being quick to calling for others to renounce their faith, Rodrigues is resilient in keeping his faith, leading to those around him facing the consequences. I once heard a phrase "every time we ask for forgivness, another time a nail is driven into Jesus' hand". Kichijiro is a wretch, who failed his family, community and God. He's unable to bear his cross even when it comes at the cost of others. However he repeatedly humbles himself to ask for forgiveness. How could someone use Christ like this? We naturally want to despise Kichijiro but fail to consider we are no better than him. Rodrigues comes to also despise the presence of Kichijiro and question why a man of such little strength in his faith, begs for God's forgiveness, until Rodrigues finds himself in the same position. We realise he despises him because he is no better. We are quick to criticise others when we too walk imperfectly ourselves Is it God's silence or other's suffering that hurts us the most? Rodrigues begs for the screams of his companions to stop but the silence kills him even more. he prays, yearning for a reason, a sign or even purpose from God. In return, God removes Rodrigues' initial purpose for his mission to Japan. He see his fellow Jesuit brother fall for not renouncing his faith, and his mentor has come to be an Apostate. the Silence only gets more louder and disturbing to his heart to the point of submission. We see God's face everywhere throughout the film, but only directly hear his voice twice. It's hard to walk in life without a guiding force, but when we feel it, there is not a more calming sound, you realise the silence is his voice, the calming of the storm. The end shows Rodrigues has come to accept and somewhat understand that God was never silent, and finds peace in his silence, while Kichijiro stands on his faith in the face of persecution, picking up his cross to bear. It's hard to encapsulate what God voice is, that's why silence speaks a thousand words. "After the earthquake, fire-but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound." - 1 Kings 19:13