conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

silence...

"Silence promotes the presence of God, prevents many harsh and proud words, and suppresses many dangers in the way of ridiculing or harshly judging our neighbors... If you are faithful in keeping silence when it is not necessary to speak, God will preserve you from evil when it is right for you to talk."

-Francois Fenelon (1651-1715)

"Happy those who can make this prayer their own: Christ, you see who I am. For me, not to hide anything in my heart from you is a necessity. You were a human being, too. And when my inner self seems to be pulled in a thousand different directions, my thirsting heart reaches the point of praying: 'Enable me to live a life rooted in you, Jesus the Christ; unify my desire and my thirst.'"

-Brother Roger of Taize

We finally managed a little time to take the tree and other decorations down and put them away. Until next Christmas, fun decorations. So now I can enjoy the "music room" again, free from the presense of that large artificial evergreen. Don't get me wrong. Eight feet of fake tree is a great thing. I love it. But now there is simply less clutter and that makes me happy as well.

So, why is it that I talk so much about silence? I find myself doing this a lot lately. It is oxymoronic. It is also necessary. I am trying to refocus my mind. Megan and Cristopher and I have been blogging about Wayne Muller's book, Sabbath. It has been a good exercise for me to take the time to write and reflect on the Sabbath and to reacquaint myself with it. I'm behind in my posting because I got creative at some point during the holidays and put the book some plae"where I am certain to remember it." Ah well. I'll get there. Keep on keeping on!

One of the things I did in my first three months at Community Church is go to the Benedictine monastery in Three Rivers, Michigan. I needed a little time to reflect on being a pastor and husband...to take time to enrich my own prayer life...my own sense of worship. Being a pastor, I find, is tricky in this regard. You see, I find it very dificult to worship on Sunday mornings. I am responsible for the service, and need to keep my eyes open for what is going on for other people. I am thinking about the sermon, doing last minute edits in my mind as I preach it. I'm evaluating the choice of hymns etc. I often take notes in the bulletin for next year at the same time...just a reminder of what I experienced. So, somehow I have lost worship. I am told by many clergy that they experience the same thing. Ah well. Such is the life. I am willing to make some sacrifice in this way, otherwise I would not have said "yes." But I miss some of what worship brings to my life. And what I miss most is the silence.

Silence for me is the cornerstone of worship. Silences in worship are like rests in music. All is improved by well-placed silence. My heart is uplifted, my mind stilled. And then, for me, something wells up in me. I'd like to think that it is the Holy Spirit at work. I find myself finally able to breathe and feel a love. I gain clarity in silence. I finally have the courage to ask God the questions that are on my heart. And if I have the courage to hear, often the answers are there for me as well, or at least the beginnings of answers. Silence is prayer for me. Meditation, contemplation are particular silences, but for me all silences are prayer.

I miss sitting with God. And I need to regain that part of my own faith life. I cannot lead a church if I too do not pray, do not worship, do not take time for silence. Sabbath is a glorious thing. By reminding myself of its importance I find myself noticing the lack of other spiritual essentials in my life. This is good news.

Come, let us sing to the Lord;*
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving*
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God,*
and a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,*
and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,*
and his hands have moulded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down and bend the knee,*
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand.*
O that today you would hearken to his voice!

Y'all have a good day. I'll see you around the ether!

Posted by tripp at January 16, 2007 06:21 AM