Holy Silence by J. Brent Bill

Author:J. Brent Bill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Quietude Query

Relax your body and mind.

Breathe deeply.

Put down the book.

Think about the following Quietude Query slowly and gently. Savor each thought.

When I think of my sacred silent space, what does it look like? How would I furnish it?

While one of the strengths of Quaker silence is that it requires no special time, in the beginning (and sometimes throughout our entire lives, depending on our personalities) it can be helpful to set aside specific times for silence. Otherwise the affairs of the day may so overtake us that we don’t have time to be quiet until we go to bed. Then we promptly fall asleep. That’s not to say that God can’t speak to us in the silence of our dreams. The Bible contains plenty of instances of God doing just that. But sleepy spirituality certainly robs us of the joy of dialogue. It steals the sensuality of the divine encounter.

Pierre Lacout captured that sensuality when he wrote,

In silence which is active, the Inner Light begins to glow—a tiny spark. For the flame to be kindled and to grow, subtle argument and the clamor of our emotions must be stilled. It is by an attention full of love that we enable the Inner Light to blaze and illuminate our dwelling and to make of our whole being a source from which this Light may shine out. Words must be purified in a redemptive silence if they are to bear the message of peace. The right to speak is a call to the duty of listening. Speech has no meaning unless there are attentive minds and silent hearts. Silence is the welcoming acceptance of the other. The word born of silence must be received in silence.

For the purpose of being alone and still before God, you might want to make a regular, nonnegotiable place in your schedule. Maybe that’s early in the morning for you. It wouldn’t be for me. I hate getting up. But Nancy loves it. At home, when possible, she practices garden silence—sweet communion with God’s growing things. That’s because all of creation continually reminds her of the goodness and love of God. As Sharron Singleton writes in her poem “All the News”:

Some look to angels

for news of the holy.

On my knees in the earth

of my garden,

hot sun rakes

my hair, licks

my neck, presses

me down, stuns

me with all the news

I can bear.

Don’t think of finding time for holy silence as something to add to your “to do” list. To spend time with the One who loves us so dearly is not a chore to be checked off. Instead, it creates space for something our heart desires, something our soul longs for. That’s why it would go on our “want to do” list. If we are serious about seeking God, that is. Thomas Kelly asks a hard question: “Do you want to live in such an amazing divine Presence that life is transformed and transfigured and transmuted into peace and power and glory and miracle?” If we can honestly answer yes, then Kelly’s response is, “If you do, you can.

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