Monday Reflections: Silence

“Silence reminds me to take my soul with me wherever I go.”

—A third grader, North Dakota

Kathleen Norris published a series of reflections on her spiritual life in 1998 titled “Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith.” Her first reflection is on silence. She writes about her time teaching art to elementary school students. She tells a handful of stories about how she would begin her class. She would ask her students that when she lifted her hand, they were allowed to be as loud as they liked. Before the exercise started, she would tell them that when she lowered her hand, they had to be completely silent.

As you would imagine, it took some practice for students to learn to be silent. Sometimes pencils would drop, and chairs would creak until they learned to be completely silent. Norris writes about the students’ reflections on silence. Silence is sometimes scary. To hold silence is to let go of control. Sometimes we do not know what will follow after silence.

The Bible tells us stories of silence. There is the silence in Genesis right before God spoke the first words. Every word God pronounced during the story of creation was preceded and followed by silence. Silence fell when Abraham took Isaac to Mount Moriah. Silence preceded Esther’s courageous act before the king. There was silence in the belly of the great fish. Silence followed Mary’s acceptance of her call. Even on the cross, as Jesus felt God’s absence, there was silence.

Each of these instances was followed by an unexpected intervention, an act of creation so outrageous that these stories have become for millions the foundation of their faith. Isaac was saved by an unexpected lamb. Esther saved her people from genocide. Jonah’s words moved a nation to repentance. Mary became Jesus’ mother. Jesus was raised from the dead. Silence is that space in between what was and what God is about to do. Silence is the liminal space where we, sometimes terrified, wait for a new creation.

Over the next few weeks, we will explore more reflections from Kathleen Norris. In the meantime, if you are in that liminal space, or if silence makes its way to you, give it space. Life is on its way.

Today’s Prayer

Our prayer today comes from another of Norris’s third graders,

 “Silence is spiders spinning their webs; it’s like a silkworm making its silk. Lord, help me to know when to be silent.” Amen.

Rev. Eduardo Bousson
Senior Manager, Collegiate Ministries
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
The United Methodist Church