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| Morning Silence in Vercor, Grenoble |
'O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.' Psalm 131:2
When we visited Helsinki on 13 August 2010 we learnt about the great Finnish composer, Sibelius who composed the well loved anthem, Finlandia. The tour guide informed us that although Mr Sibelius travelled the world, most of his compositions were inspired and written in Finland. He had a famous quotation “In Finland there is a silence that speaks” and this was inscribed on his memorial. He meant that he found the peace and quiet of his country especially inspiring.
A silence that speaks - this phrase resonated with me when I first heard it because at that time I felt distanced from God. It seemed that the quiet whispers of God speaking to my soul had gone. If it had been present, as it surely must have, it was simply ignored and shut out. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months, still there was no inspiration. I simply did not enjoy any contemplative moment. I was too hurried. I need to shut out the noise of a busy life, keep still, enjoy the silence and hear God’s inspiration. When I viewed the countryside around Helsinki, I knew that God spoke through the silence.
Kent Nerburn spoke of being in Saskatchewan once. The wind there was extremely strong and loud to him, a newcomer to the area. But the people in that part of Canada were so used to this wind that they hardly noticed its presence. So too is the voice of God. It is always present but we fail to give it the correct attention because life itself, like the Saskatchewan wind, sound-surrounds and shuts out God’s voice.
God’s voice like the wind does not stop, it just drops down to a whisper. Does this happen ever so often in your life? Our own self importance, our self directedness stifles the God given instinct for communication and communion.
Our former Pastor Tan-Yeo Lay Suan once shared, "Stillness and Silence is always a prerequisite for receptivity. Telephones and television sets cannot receive messages when they are too filled with static and noise." When we learn to wean off the voices of the world, then perhaps we can start to listen to the voice of God. If we are to listen above the noise, we have to calm and quieten our soul like a child at the mother's breast, a child not hooked on the distractions of the busy life.
Richard Tan also struggled with this silence from God which he found perplexing especially with respect to unanswered prayer. He found insight and comfort in Eugene Peterson's sharing, "We have learned by experience that God's silence in the face of our prayers is not due to some inadequacy on our part or some technical glitch in the way we pray. God's silence is a common and repeated experience among all who pray. Like the widow who did not lose heart, why do we keep praying? We do it because we know who God is and what He is like. Having kept company with Jesus, we know the character and work of the God who is with us. That is why we keep praying and do not lose heart."
There is a mountain in the middle of France near the town of Grenoble upon which a monastery was founded by St Bruno. It is called the Grand Chartreuse. For nine centuries, contemplative Catholic monks and nuns of the Carthusian Order, have been faithful to the vocation of silence. There in the stillness of the surrounding countryside in which the brothers pray and live their lives in silence not speaking to each other except for a few days in a year. Yet, the testimonies of the monks speak of them knowing God, the world, society and humankind in depth and truthfulness. Was it not, Mahatma Gandhi who said “It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without heart?” The Carthusian monks knew this secret centuries ago.
And God comes to them. There is song written by David Haas entitled 'You Are Mine' whose first line reassures that God will come to us in the silence
I will come to you in the silence
I will lift you from all your fear
You will hear My voice
I claim you as My choice
Be still, and know I am near
I am hope for all who are hopeless
I am eyes for all who long to see
In the shadows of the night,
I will be your light
Come and rest in Me
Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine
I am strength for all the despairing
Healing for the ones who dwell in shame
All the blind will see, the lame will all run free
And all will know My name
Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine
I am the Word that leads all to freedom
I am the peace the world cannot give
I will call your name, embracing all your pain
Stand up, now, walk, and live
Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine
Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine
Lionel
Updated. 1st published 13 August 2010
