Shut Up for Once!
Without silence and solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.
We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him. - Henri Nouwen, Dutch Priest and Spiritual Director
I was first confronted with the spiritual dynamite of that quotation more than 20 years ago. As a person who plays a lot of music and preaches a lot of words, I was disturbed by the truth that all my noise making wasn’t necessarily drawing me closer to the Spirit of God. My rough translation of Henri Nouwen’s words into modern Americanese became, “Dude, just shut up, for once!”
To this day, I regularly allow my soul to confront myself with those very words.
I’m always the better for it!
It’s one thing to aspire to greater nearness to Jesus through silence and solitude, it’s quite another to put it into practice. In order for me to make progress, I stumbled into the rhythm of quarterly spiritual retreats. Four times a year, I disappear right after church for about 40 hours of no technology, silence and solitude. It sounds a little holier than it is! I’m typically with a group of 35-40 other retreatants. We spend agreed upon times in prayer and worship, meals, conversations, teaching, even celebration, but most importantly - at the center of the retreat - are extended hours of silence and solitude.
When I first began this practice, those handful of quiet hours seemed to last, oh, so long!
But, over the years, as I’ve become more comfortable and experienced in listening for God and practicing the presence of God, the silent hours now fly by all too soon.
This year, our entire church staff has expressed the desire to grow closer to God through practices of silence and solitude. We’re been helped by a really great book by New York Pastor, Peter Scazzero, called Emotionally Healthy Discipleship. Feel free to pick up a copy and practice the spiritual exercises at the end of the chapters!
As the world becomes even more screen-centric and technology-based, our need and longing for ancient practices that help us be with God and each other is only increasing. I’m heartened to see some quiet signs of life around Elmhurst CRC these days. Luke Norris and Emily Simonis are leading our young people into the quiet. We have several small groups practicing the ancient art of listening to Scripture called Lectio Divina during the season of Lent. And I keep having conversations with people who are secretly praying using an app called Lectio 365 (can’t recommend it highly enough!). There is growth toward God in the simple, quiet places.
Perhaps you, too, feel the tug into silence and solitude. As we approach Holy Week, with the brutality and wonder of what Jesus did for us through his Passion and on the cross, wordless wonder and contemplation is the best possible posture I can think of.
Grace to you as you seek to meet God in the quiet, deserted places
– Pastor Gregg