God cannot leave things empty; that would be to contradict his own nature and justice. Therefore, you must be silent. Then the Word of this birth can be spoken in you and you will be able to hear him. But be certain of this: if you try to speak then He must be silent. There is no better way of serving the Word than in being silent and listening. So if you come out of yourself completely, God will wholly enter in; to the degree you come out, to that degree will he enter, neither more nor less.
Johannes Tauler, c. 1300 – 15 June 1361 (h/t to Desert Year)
The resurrection of Jesus was a hidden event… Only those whom he called by name, with whom he broke bread, and to whom he spoke words of peace were aware of what happened. Still, it was this hidden event that freed humanity from the shackles of death. (Henri Nouwen)
There are the last few days before Christmas, and a strong silence flows under even the slightly frantic preparations in church. I don’t know how it feels from the inside, as it were, but there often seems to me to be a sort of stillness about women in the last days of their pregnancy—a kind of inward listening that is very beautiful to see. We are with Mary in those last days now, and it would be good to be a little like Zechariah was with his Elizabeth, lost in the silence of the angel, wordless in the House of God.
2 comments:
Oh Mike - this is very beautiful. I am so grateful that I finally have a few moments to stop by. I have consciously spent less time on the internet this Advent.
I am offering a homiletic reflection at Evening Prayer on Tuesday night and this just might find its way into it.
God bless you in this deep silence, this intimate listening time.
Fran
Very beautiful indeed, Mike. I will let this deep silence work in me, these last days of Advent.
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