Quietest Place on Earth

He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him. Colossians 2:14-15 (CSB)

Silence is golden! How many young parents have thought about tattooing this motto on their arms? There is a place that has been officially designated as the quietest place on Earth. It is located in Redmond, Washington at the Microsoft headquarters. The room was built in 2015, the anechoic chamber doesn’t remove all sounds, only the external noises which allows you to hear the endless sounds of your body. “When you turn your head, you can even hear that movement. You can hear yourself breathing and it sounds pretty loud,” wrote Lead Project Designer, Hondaraj Gopal.

According to the article, only a few people have survived staying in the room for a long period at most an hour. “Without any sounds from the outside world to get in the way, absolute silence will gradually turn into an unbearable ringing in the ears. This will likely cause you to lose your balance due to the lack of reverberation in the room, which will impair your spatial awareness.” (Walla! Health)

However, could it be that the quietest place on Earth isn’t a man-made room in Redmond, Washington but a God-inhabited tomb at the edge of Golgotha?

Microsoft took two years to design and build their room. It consists of six layers of concrete and steel and is detached from the surrounding buildings. The room has an array of shock-absorbing springs installed below the floor with fiberglass wedges installed on the floor, ceiling, and walls to break up the sound waves before they can travel into the room.

God took His only Son to build his room! It consists of God’s love that “everyone that believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” His “room” was built with mockery, ridicule, spit, torturous beatings, and finally, iron nails driven into his body until the sound waves are broken up by the words, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Have you ever considered when the one criminal on the cross realized Jesus was who he said he was and asked, “remember me when you come into your kingdom?” He had been mocking Jesus, along with the crowd below and the other criminal on the cross. Maybe it was when Jesus showed compassion and concern for his mother even as he was struggling to breathe on the cross. Perhaps it was when he saw the group of followers who genuinely cared about Jesus yet not one person was there for him. Maybe it was when he heard Jesus asking, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing,” even as cried out in pain.

Regardless of when he finally realized that only in Jesus was hope. This criminal who had no hope, no future, and no understanding found his redeemer. He didn’t make a long drawn-out appeal on how he had been mistreated, misunderstood, or misjudged, he asked, “remember me.” Jesus dying on the cross, beaten and  tortured looked at this criminal and said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Philip Yancey writes, “Jesus forgave a thief dangling on a cross, knowing full well the thief had converted out of plain fear. That thief would never study the Bible, never attend synagogue or church, and never make amends to those he had wronged. He simply said “Jesus remember me,” and Jesus promised, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” It was another shocking reminder that grace does not depend on what we have done for God but rather what God has done for us.”

A person may only stay in the Microsoft room for an hour until he loses balance.  Jesus stayed for three days without losing His balance for the sake of our eternity! Jesus completed his assignment as he shouted out “it is finished!” The quietest place on earth lost its grip on every generation,  bringing hope to those who followed Jesus as Savior. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (I Cor 15:56 CSB) “Death’s horrific sting is a result of sin. Death only loses its sting when death is no longer a punishment, but rather a transition. Believers no longer need to feel the sting of death, since Jesus has achieved everlasting life for believers.” (Dirk van Garderen)

I grew up in the evangelical stream of the Christian faith where many of the terms, Holy Week, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday were alien to me. Yet through the years I have grown to have a deep appreciation for the other streams of Christian faith that celebrate these days, together we form a mighty ocean of Jesus’ followers. As I acknowledge the celebration of Palm Sunday, it reminds me how easy it is to shout Hosanna one day, only to cry “crucify him” on Good Friday.  To sit in the darkness of Holy Wednesday knowing the betrayal of Judas will happen on Maundy Thursday yet wait with the expectation of Resurrection morning.

“The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples. He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there. Listen, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7 CSB)

The quietest place on Earth? Not anymore, for He has risen!

God is great!