Silence

“We are so afraid of silence that we chase ourselves from one event to the next in order to not have to spend a moment alone with ourselves, in order not to have to look at ourselves in the mirror.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“In a noise-polluted world, it is even difficult to hear ourselves think let alone try to be still and know God. Yet it seems essential for our spiritual life to seek some silence, no matter how busy we may be. Silence is not to be shunned as empty space, but to be befriended as fertile ground for intimacy with God” – Susan Muto

“I need peace and silence to give free play to this quickening flame of prayer” – Anonymous author of The Way of the Pilgrim

Silence

“closing off our souls from “sounds” whether noise, music, or words, so that we may better still the inner chatter and clatter of our noisy hearts and be increasingly attentive to God” – from the Renovare’ Spiritual Formation Bible

Control rather than no noise is the key and goal of the discipline of silence

The purpose of slowing, solitude, and silence is to be able to see & hear more clearly.

James 3:2-12

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

Fear of Silence

Do you like to fill times of silence? With what?

Why do we fear silence?

Who will justify us? Silence puts the stopper on all self-justification

Who will take control? Who do we trust? Silence is intimately related to trust

What will people think of me if I don’t manipulate their impression of me with my words?

Practicing Silence

Remember the goal is not just a lack of words, the goal is to learn control of the tongue and learn to listen.

“It is easier to be silent altogether than to speak with moderation” – Thomas A Kempis

Simply to refrain from talking, without a heart listening to God, is not silence.

“A person who is under the discipline of silence is a person who can say what needs to be said when it needs to be said.” – Foster

Exercises:

1). Try being silent for ten minutes, several times a day. As you become quiet what do you hear? Let the noise go. After your time is up, reflect on what it was like to simply be still.

2). While doing a task, turn off any background noise and continue the task by offering it to God.

3). Spend an extended time in silence (no books, no music, no words – just listen). What surfaces in this time of silence?

4). Make a list of the “noise” in your life. Pray to God about the list and ask him to free you from the noise and to help you gain control over these things.

Next Class: Dec. 17 – the Practice of Celebration!

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