The Call to Solitude and Silence

During the past several weeks, I have been quite silent on this blog.  The reason though, I believe is good.  In this technological age when the presence of folks pouring out their rantings and gossip on countless blogs and Myspace pages and when entertainment fills our ears with more pointless noise, we lose a precious treasure.  That is that when people fill the remaining minutes of their busy days with news and numb their senses with psychobabble and techno-noise, it crowds out the last vestiges of their minds and time which should be reserved for reflection.  I've discovered that this temptation is all to easy and the only way I can prevent it is with solitude and silence.  Pure and purposeful reflection can only come from a quiet mind and trusting heart--knowing that Truth with a capital T is waiting to be met and taken seriously. 

 

What is true solitude?  It's not simply being alone, but knowing that we can never truly be alone.  One of my favorite group of musicians, Enter the Worship Circle, says in one of their hymns, "Though I feel alone, I'm not alone, because... You are right by my side."  The Master has said, "And surely I will be with you until the end of the age."  Though our friends may fail us, though our neighbors may reject us, though we me feel like strangers in a foreign world, the One of the universe remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

 

You see when we isolate ourselves, we close our eyes and harden our hearts from feeling the love of God.  Conversely when we silence ourselves and rest from the busy activity of congested interaction, the world may withdraw from us, but in solitude we discover how close the Divine has drawn to us.  It is truly possible to discover why we exist, in the gentle whispers of Truth.  Upon the mediation of what really matters, we find our true selves.  Real community may affirm who we are.  But real solitude and close quietness with the Divine allows us to live the question "Why am I who I am?"

 

Often we are not afforded the opportunity to retreat to a cave, mountain top, or even a sanctuary for quiet contemplation, yet this doesn't diminish the call to solitude.  Every day true servants are called to quiet their thoughts and practice restraint.  This is so that they can be able to perceive the closeness and direction of the Divine.  Richard J. Foster in Celebration of Discipline explains two very important distinctions about solitude, first he says, "We can cultivate an inner solitude and silence that sets us free from loneliness and fear. Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment."  Second he says, "Without silence there is no solitude."  We must realize that solitude includes both fullness and silence.  The tension lies in discovering how to fill our souls without filling them with noise and junk-thoughts.

 

In today's culture, though numbed and stunted by advanced technology, spectacular cinema, and the shrinking of the world, the search for real wonder runs deep in the human soul.  The desire to be mystified and awed lends to big business in corners of the world like Hollywood.  No wonder Jesus' contemporaries demanded signs and wonders, to no avail.  The Master rather requests a different posture--a quiet, contrite, and broken heart.  Rather than looking for the next thrill, we should be looking for the One who brings us true peace and rest.

 

In my time here in Bolivia, I have noticed the noise of globalization leaking into this quiet mountain country.  That doesn't mean I have to react hostilely.  What it does mean is I must remember who I belong to, and that this Master is a solid rock of peace and comfort.  To the widows who work constantly to put food on the table, the Divine is the one who brings consolation.  To the subsistence farmer, His burden is light.  And to the servant, to the ones who break bread in solidarity with the abandoned, and those crying the night away in the streets, He does not deny.  How He longs for those who humble and quiet themselves and experience that He is God.  This is why those who mourn will be comforted and those who are meek will inherit the earth, because they know where to find the Master, they know how to approach the Divine.

 

Let us in solitude seek the One who binds up the broken and sets the captives free.  This is my prayer as I continue to serve in South America.

 

PS:  I have been invited to visit a community in Brazil who work among children who find themselves abandoned or have run away to the live in the streets of São Paulo.  =)  More news on that later.