There are two things that are emphasized throughout this book: faces and silence. Almost very time Rodrigues interacts with another person, he takes note of their face. I think this is a part of his character and feeds into his constant concern about the face of Christ. Silence is also an important factor, hence the title of the book. But the silence of God is not the only silence noted. There are several instances where Rodrigues or another person asks a question and receive no reply. But, even when people do not speak, the person who asked the question is able to make assumptions and gain an answer by looking at the other person’s face. This happens several times when Rodrigues asks people about Ferreira. They simply shake their heads, but Rodrigues reads a further answer in their face.
I think this ability to read a person's face is one reason why Rodrigues continuously wonders about Jesus’ face. He is bothered by God’s seeming silence. Perhaps he thinks that if he could only see Christ’s face, he would be able to read an answer in his expression. As it is, Rodrigues often clearly sees what he imagines as Jesus’ face. It brings him comfort in prison, but also reproches him for his treatment of Kichijiro. What is interesting is that Rodrigues wonders at God’s silence when he heard Jesus tell him he would not abandon him. This is something that is quite true to life. When an answer is not exactly what we were looking for, we can ask the question again as if the question had never been answered at all. Or we can simply miss the answer that is given and continue searching for an answer that is right in front of us.
P.S. I commented on Jamie’s and Breanna’s posts
Comments