On Silence

The second portion of Henri Nouwen's book, The Way of the Heart, is on silence.

Obviously, the disciplines of solitude and of silence are interconnected. This is how he connects the two:

"Silence is the way to make solitude a reality... Silence is an indispensable discipline in the spiritual life. Ever since James described the tongue as a 'whole wicked world in itself' (James

3:6) Christians have tried to practice silence as the way of self-control. Clearly silence is a discipline needed in many different

situations: in teaching and learning, in preaching and worship, in visiting and counseling. Silence is a very concrete, practical, and useful discipline in all our ministerial tasks. It can be seen as a portable cell taken with us from the solitary place into the midst of our ministry. Silence is solitude practiced in action" (Way of the Heart, 35-36).

Essentially, he is saying that (at least in part) the discipline of silence is our way of practicing solitude without having to literally leave the world behind us. We see Jesus putting this sort of thing into practice quite frequently: Matt 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, 6:12...

Nouwen insists that in our "wordy" culture these times of silence are more and more important:

"Wherever we go we are surrounded by words: words softly whispered, loudly proclaimed, or angrily screamed; words spoken, recited, or sung; words on records, in books, on walls, or in the sky; words in many sounds, many colours, or many forms; words to be heard, read, seen, or glanced at; words which flicker off and on, move slowly, dance, jump, or wiggle. Words, words, words! ... The result of this is that the main function of the word, which is communication, is no longer realized. The word no longer communicates, no longer fosters communion, no longer creates community, and therefore no longer gives life. The word no longer offers trustworthy ground on which people can meet each other and build society" (38-39).

I think he is right about this, particularly when encountering post-modern philosophy where language is viewed as a power tool; a tool to manipulate others toward a personal/corporate agenda.

But, as always, there are similar pitfalls for those of us within the church as well:

"Often it seems that we who study or teach theology find ourselves entangled in such a complex network of discussions, debates, and arguments about God and 'God-issues' that a simple conversation with God or a simple presence to God has become practically impossible. Our heightened verbal ability, which enables us to make many distinctions, has sometimes become a poor substitute for a single-minded commitment to the WORD who is life" (39).

Whether this applies to each one of us is a matter of individual introspection... But, as he always does, Nouwen does not allow this spiritual discipline to foster individualism. Instead, it is a way for God to refuel us to accomplish His ministry:

"Silence is primarily a quality of the heart that leads to ever-growing charity... Charity, not silence, is the purpose of the spiritual life and of ministry" (57).

So, what do you make of all this?

What other scriptures can you think of that address words, language, and silence?

On Solitude

Over the course of this Summer I've been striving to immerse myself in more spiritual disciplines. One of the wonderfully humbling things about practicing spiritual disciplines is that they immediately show you how poorly you practice them!

One of the books I picked up to help challenge me along this path was "The Way of the Heart" by Henri Nouwen. Nouwen asserts that in order to be an effective minister of the Gospel in today's culture we need to habitually practice the disciplines of solitude, silence, and prayer.

Today I'll provide you some of his insights on the spiritual discipline of solitude.

Are you the kind of person who longs for times of solitude or dreads it?

"Just look for a moment at our daily routine. In general we are very

busy people. We have many meetings to attend, many visits to make, many services to lead. Our calendars are filled with appointments, our days and weeks filled with engagements, and our years filled with plans and projects. There is seldom a period in which we do not know what to do, and we move through life in such a distracted way that we do not even take the time and rest to wonder if any of the things we think, say, or do are worth thinking, saying, or doing. We simply go along with the many 'musts' and 'oughts' that have been handed on to us, and we live with them as if they were authentic translations of the Gospel of our Lord" (Way of the Heart, 12).

Have you ever felt like this?

Have you ever wondered if the things you are thinking/saying/doing are worth thinking/saying/doing?

Nouwen says that solitude is the place where transformation happens. Of course there are numerous Biblical examples of this: Israel in the wilderness, Elijah fleeing into the wilderness, John the Baptist baptizing in the wilderness, Jesus being tempted in the wilderness, etc.

Nouwen says that as long as we remain (at least mentally/spiritually, if not physically) in our culture we will remain victims of our culture. And so there is a need (at least mentally/spiritually, if not physically) to flee into solitude were we can allow God to strip away all that needs to be removed in our lives.

"Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self. Jesus himself entered into this furnace ... Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter -- the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self" (15-16).

However, Nouwen challenges us to make sure that our times and places of solitude don't become places/times of selfishness: "... solitude is not a private therapeutic place. Rather, it is the place of conversion, the place where the old self dies and the new self is born, the place where the emergence of the new man and the new woman occurs" (17).

And he reminds us that the purpose of solitude is NOT escapism. The purpose of solitude is not to flee the world forever; after all, our mandate as Christians is to engage the world. Rather, our times of solitude allow God to shape and form us and provide us with a perspective conducive to ministry: compassion.

"Here we reach the point where ministry and spirituality touch each other. It is compassion. Compassion is the fruit of solitude and the basis of all ministry. The purification and transformation that take place in solitude manifest themselves in compassion... It is in solitude that compassionate solidarity grows... What becomes visible is that solitude molds self-righteous people into gentle, caring, forgiving persons who are so deeply convinced of their own sinfulness and so fully aware of God's even greater mercy that their life itself becomes ministry" (24, 25, 27).

What role has/does solitude play in your life?

Do you agree with his perspective on Solitude?

What other scriptures can you think of that connect with the spiritual discipline of solitude?

...to be Human...

So, I've been reading "The Wounded Healer" by Henri Nouwen and this idea has captured many of my stray thoughts:

"When man is no longer able to look beyond his own death and relate himself to what extends beyond the time and space of his life, he loses his desire to create and the excitement of being human." (pg. 13)

Nouwen is talking about what he calls the "nuclear man". Essentially he is talking about the post-modern generation (he wrote this in '72 before our language of post-modernity was widely used). He says that the plight of the post-modern individual is caused by a Historical Dislocation, a Fragmented Ideology, and a Search for New Immortality. What I love about Nouwen's approach is that he doesn't attack Post-Modernity but acknowledges it as just another philosophy that will one day be replaced by something else; it's just what we've got to work with for now.

So, according to him, when we cease to seek immortality we cease to be fully human (ie. created in God's image).

There's a thought. What do you think?

He says that mankind's desire to extend himself beyond his own life is part of what it means to be made in God's image.

To create is to emulate the creator.

So please "create" some comments and discussion.