July 27, 2025

In the Spring of 2009, the “Voice of Philadelphia” passed away. Harry Kalas, long-time sports announcer for the Phillies and a commentator for NFL films, died suddenly just before the baseball game. Besides having a golden mellifluous voice, Harry was a good man. The outpouring of love and respect for him was huge.

At the same time, but on a much lighter note, Susan Boyle, a matronly, unassuming woman from a small Scottish village, blew the world away with her soul-stirring singing voice, debuted on Britain’s version of “American Idol”. Her voice is not just good – it is molten silver against the cold darkness. It is a rich and powerful contradiction to the whining nasality of so many willowy stars. It is a victorious testimony to the truism that you can’t tell a book by its cover.

I remember that these events left me thinking about the gift of our voices. This gift, like many others, is one we tend to take for granted. It is only when a voice we love is silenced that we truly appreciate how we had loved to hear it.

---

Six or seven years after my mother died, my brother Jim and I were playing some old videos of his kids, looking for clips for a graduation tribute. Unexpectedly, my mother appeared in one of the videos, talking to the children in her gentle, grandmotherly tones. Jim and I hadn’t heard that precious voice since Mom had died. We were stunned to tears with the sweet memory and the poignant loss.

---

The human voice is one of the clearest expressions of God’s Power. It can lift people into the light of hope and reassurance, or it can push them to the edge of despair. It can set someone on the path to self-worth, or it can crush them under the weight of a hasty, intolerant word. It can carve someone a way out of loneliness, or it can imprison them in their own exaggerated sense of difference. The voice can bless or it can curse.

We are powerful people who are sometimes wrapped in a paralysis of unawareness. Often, we don’t realize the power of our words or the force of our silence. Such powers demand and deserve our attention. Our words may never be repeated in tribute like Harry’s and Susan’s have been. But our words can rest forever in the recesses of someone’s heart. Someday — when they draw up that memory, the way my brother and I did — let them be holding silver and gold.

---

Music: Two songs for your enjoyment, certainly of different musical merit, but both very moving. Enjoy!

For Your Reflection

• What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
• Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
• What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: Ephesians 5:19-20