Advent & Silence

Beloved in Christ,

The season of Advent has been a blur for me. A blur of activity. A hubbub of noise. A smear of doing.

And I hold that reality, that experience, in tension with what I think Advent ought to be.

A period of quiet. A slower time. A time of contemplation in the midst of the growing cold, dark nights. A time of silence.

Silence is, after all, deeply important to our spiritual lives. Silence is the manner by which we most effectively learn to listen to God. Often our prayer and spiritual lives are directed from us to God. 

But how often is it that we open ourselves to listen, for the axis of communication to move from God to us, rather than usual other-way-around?

For me, at least, it’s much less often than I would like!

So, silence.
Advent is a time to cultivate that holy silence.

That silence which comes to us from the Prophet Habakkuk, “But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him!” (2:20). Or as the Prophet Zechariah writes, “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.” (2:13).

This is a silence which we cultivate because in it we recognize God’s presence is near to us. There is something about silence which reminds, opens, and empties us into the profound presence of God. Silence and presence are intertwined here.

Silence also cultivates our capacity to listen to God, as the Prophet Isaiah writes, “Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength.” (41:1a).

To be in silence with God’s presence is a profound act of worship, a profound act of renewal, a profound act of being.

In these waning days of Advent, I encourage all of us (especially myself!) to take some time to be silent before God, and prepare our hearts to receive God in Christ Jesus, incarnate, born of Holy Mary, in but a few days.

Yours in Christ,

Alex+