Sunday, December 2, 2007

Sacred Silence

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, Year A
Are you ready? There are only 23 shopping days left until Christmas! Are you ready?

Our lives today often seem to be a brief interlude between rushing and waiting. We rush to airports two hours before our flight leaves, only to wait in line; we hurry to take advantage of the pre-Christmas sales, and again wait in line to check out; we even rush around to get to Church, and then wait in long lines to receive the Eucharist. Especially for the next 23 days, our lives have the potential to be so busy that it just becomes one big blur. But the season of Advent calls us in a different direction. For the next 23 days, our Church calls us to step away from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas rush to slow down. For the next 23 days, our faith challenges us to spend more time waiting than rushing – to watch, to stay awake – preparing for the coming of Christ. The waiting that we do so often in our daily lives – in the doctor’s office, the grocery store line, and countless other places – the waiting that we are so used to out in the world becomes the basis of this season, and becomes holy. Advent is all about a holy waiting.

Now, I admit – that’s hard to do. Especially at this time of year when our minds are a-buzz with presents to buy and wrap, houses to decorate, and parties to plan or attend, it’s hard to silence our thoughts and wait for Christ. But that is all the more reason that we need to do it. Our Scriptures during this season give us great guides in our waiting, people like Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Mary. Our music this season is a bit more subdued – no Christmas carols yet, but instead the great songs of waiting, like O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, or The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns. But perhaps the greatest gift that the Church can give to us in these days is the opportunity to quiet our lives, to spend some time in prayerful silence.

For many of us, silence has become such a foreign concept that we’re not exactly sure what to do when we find everything around us quiet. But every time we gather for the Eucharist, the Church invites us to include periods of sacred silence throughout our liturgy. This is a special kind of silence – a silence that should lead to prayer and reflection. There is a short silence following each of the readings in the Liturgy of the Word, and a longer silence following the homily, to give us “an opportunity to take the word of God to heart and to prepare a response to it in prayer” (Lectionary for Mass: Introduction, 28). The silence after the homily is a chance for each of us to make the Scripture readings our own – to reflect on how the word of God speaks to our lives. That’s something that can’t be done in 10 or 15 seconds, it takes time. There is another lengthy silence following communion, but this time of quiet has a different purpose: this is a time for prayer, thanking God for the gift we have received in the Eucharist and asking for the strength to become a Eucharistic people. There are also some brief silences scattered throughout the liturgy, like after the priest says, “Let us pray,” to give everyone an opportunity to gather their thoughts and hearts into a spirit of prayer.

Our world is in desperate need of silence, and the sacred silence of the liturgy can be a gift – a gift to help us unite our own prayers to the prayers of the Church. Sacred silence can help us focus on God’s presence among us as we leave the buzz of the world outside. Throughout the year, but especially during these next 23 days of Christmas frenzy, sacred silence can calm our hearts so that we are ready to welcome Christ once more.

4 comments:

Sandy said...

Some thoughts to ponder from this homily include how important silence is in order to be in touch with our inner selves and how we need to use those precious moments of silence during the Roman Catholic Mass Liturgy to be in touch with the living God who is in our presence in such a powerful way. Advent time is a time of preparation. I will take a few moments of silence this week to ponder these and other aspects of this homily.

Mike said...

As a convert, one of the things that appealed most to me at OLPH was the sense of reverence upon entering Mass: the holy water reminding us of baptism, the genuflect honoring Christ's real presence, the sacred space around the alter, and the sacred silence. It is in stark contrast to the loud, non-stop noise , the tyranny of novelty, and lack of tradition in my previous church experience. And I believe sacredness, silence, and reverence are what people are truly hungry for.

carol said...

I have come to love silence over the past 5 years and usually drive to and from places in silence rather than having some radio program on - which tends to 'get on my nerves' after about 10 minutes. I often find silence in the car conducive of prayer. And since there are so many people and intentions to pray for, I find myself able to pray for others then. Also, I tend to watch far less TV these days than I used to, which gives me time to read a book with spiritual themes which help to lift me up and sustain me through more hectic times of day, such as at work. There are so many 'things' out there vying for my attention that it is a tremendous relief to have silence in which to ponder life and its activities, and what is *really* important. Don't get me wrong...I still like a good conversation with someone, but I value silence very highly in order to keep 'meaning' to my life and actions. Hope more people take time for the silence...........can you hear it?

carol said...

I have come to love silence over the past 5 years and usually drive to and from places in silence rather than having some radio program on - which tends to 'get on my nerves' after about 10 minutes. I often find silence in the car conducive of prayer. And since there are so many people and intentions to pray for, I find myself able to pray for others then. Also, I tend to watch far less TV these days than I used to, which gives me time to read a book with spiritual themes which help to lift me up and sustain me through more hectic times of day, such as at work. There are so many 'things' out there vying for my attention that it is a tremendous relief to have silence in which to ponder life and its activities, and what is *really* important. Don't get me wrong...I still like a good conversation with someone, but I value silence very highly in order to keep 'meaning' to my life and actions. Hope more people take time for the silence...........can you hear it?