Scripture
Psalm 46: 10
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Psalm 62: 1
“For God alone my soul in silence waits”
Mark 1: 35
In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.”
Reflection
This was a challenging Wondering to write, not because of the topic, per se, but because I have had this idea in my mind for a while now but was not sure how to put it down into words on the page. I have been wondering lately about the idea of silence and the part that is has played in my life. If I am truly honest, silence had been an overarching theme in my life. I remember as a young person being seen as shy and reserved in public. I would speak and answer respectfully when I was spoken to, but I rarely made it a point to speak. In so many ways I realized that I silenced myself because I believed that what I had to say, was not of any consequence. So I believed it was better not to speak. I think that there are many people in the world whose voices are silenced because they either, like myself, believe that nothing they have to say has any consequence, or they have been told that it is better for them to be quiet. In this case the silence can be deafening. I was speaking with someone about church worship and how there was a time, not that long ago, when there was an expectation that children would be seen but not heard. This is one type of silence it is imposed silence, the silence that is either self-imposed or imposed by another, and in this type of silence it is so easy for us to come to understand ourselves as not being valued. But there are other forms of silence.
As my life changed so did I. It took me a long time to break out of my self-imposed silence, but I eventually did. The funny thing is that there came a time in my life when I actually retreated back into silence. It was in that silence that I found comfort. It was a time of upheaval and chaos in my life. A relationship had ended rather badly, I found myself living alone and that allowed me to chose the silence as a way to process what I had experienced. I remember many an evening sitting alone in the dark, watching traffic and people go by my large picture window. It was not a time of loneliness, or great sadness, there was grief as I processed the loss, but it was also a time when I came to value my own company. This is another form of silence, the silence that we seek out when we need a refuge from the world and what it throws at us.
Then we find silence in the world. Have you ever been out in the country at night, away for the city or town lights, and stepped out into the world? If you find ourself in this particular location, on a clear evening, I invite you to take a moment to stop and take a look up. When you do you might just find yourself overwhelmed by the enormity of the vastness of the night sky, filled with twinkling lights.
Finally there is the silence that can be so damaging and that is the silence of those around us in the midst of injustice. Elie Wiesel stated, “I swore never to be silent whenever wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Yet, so many remain silent in the face of oppression and injustice. They speak no words of solidarity with those facing oppression and marginalization, and so silence becomes the weapon of the oppressors.
Silence can be many different things in our lives. I have really been wondering lately about the idea of silence and how for many silence is not a comfort. I know a number of people for whom silence is a challenge as it forces them to be alone with their own thoughts, but I believe that that is where we can also find God. The scriptures remind us that there is a sacredness in silence. It can be in places of silence when we can recognize the presence of God with us. It is in the midst of these sacred pauses where we learn to stop always striving for more, we pause from the need to perform, as the world demands we perform, and we simply rest in the presence of something greater than ourselves. Sometimes to exist in spaces of silence allows us to find a connection to something deeper in ourselves which will allow us to connect to the world around us and to the divine within us. To contemplate where God is calling us to enter into silence, and where God is calling us to stand up and speak, can be challenging, but it can also lead us to God. Silence can be sacred but it can also scar, to chose silence can be life-giving but it can also be harmful. As followers we must decide which silence do we need and which silence must we break, in doing each we follow the lead of God, who exists in both places, leading us forward to be whom we were created to be.
Prayer
God of silence and sound. We ask for the wisdom to discern when we need to retreat to the silence to find you and when we need to not remain silent in support of others. Help us to find you in those moments of silence in our lives when we need to be refreshed in spirit and mind. Give us the courage to not remain in the silence when we challenged to support those who are oppressed and marginalized. Yet, in all of these times we ask for your presence and your guidance. Amen.
Peace and blessings, Rev. Patrick Woodbeck
Minister
Grey Street United/ The Big Red Church (Gordon-King Memorial United)