“Words are instruments of this world, but silence is a mystery of the age to come.” – St. Issac of Syria
Today my loves I want to spend some time speaking about silence and how we can best apply the discipline of silence within our lives as Christians. We live in a world today that often demands our attention and voice. This world not only demands us to step outside of silence internal and external but has now provided avenues such as Social Media and Forums that tempt us to share what many call a personal truth.
In the same vein, we are often asked to speak of the Truth in some cases, that being our Lord Jesus Christ. Often being in the most inopportune times. In moments where we may not be able to truly teach and explain religious ideologies to inquirers. For example, recently Anba Serapion made the example of being asked to teach while on the street. Will you have the patience to teach on the street in an appropriate manner? Will your mind be focused on leaving the entire time? Will you have the resources necessary to refer back to? The problem in all of this lies within pride and vanity. Taking the example of St. Pope Kyrillos VI, it is often far better to stay silent and pray than it is to voice an opinion or instruct others.
In order to be sure this word is well received let us set out some definitions. Vanity is the, “excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements.” We can often become obsessed in being seen as wise and pious when in reality we are the exact opposite. As many have said, “not all that glitters is gold”. Silence is defined as, “the absence of sound, it is to prohibit oneself from speaking.” Interior silence can be best achieved through constant prayers such as the Jesus Prayer, which is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” This prayer draws the mind away from the loud voices of the flesh tempting us to focus on the world and worldly activities. External silence is achieved by not only avoiding public spaces where you know idle speech is prevalent but also by discipling one’s own tongue to be still and praying to the Lord our God to set a watch over the door of our lips.
Now, when is it best to be silent? When we look to the book of Ecclesiastes within the Bible we learn there are seasons for everything in life. God has set times that place us in situations where we must speak out and must teach. Situations where we must serve his people and guide them to the Church. Seasons of prosperity and seasons of humbling. As we see in the first Psalm of David verse three, “He shall be like a tree, Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.” The key here being, “that brings forth its fruit in its season.” There are even seasons for silence and often we do not enjoy the discipline of these seasons and therefore prevent the growth of the fruits of silence in our lives. In Chapter 3 of Eccelsiastes a powerful word in verse 7 is told to us. We learn there is, “A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;” Indeed, there are times, “to keep silence, and a time to speak.” We can best discern these times or seasons through reconciliation with the Holy Spirit. This is important my loves because as the book of proverbs has taught us in the 21st chapter and 23rd verse, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue, Keeps his soul from troubles”.
How often is it that we cause ourselves to fall into hypocrisy and tempt ourselves to sin by being boastful in the grace allotted to us, as if it was of our will to be living according to the walk in which we have all been called to as christians. Do not think for a minute that any time you have excelled in faith that you have done it alone. That is a trick of the evil one who makes you feel as if you are on the same stature as our Lord God Jesus Christ the savior of our souls. Anything you do that is good, any progress you make within your spiritual life, within life in general, is only because God has decided to extend his mercy and love onto you. Bearing this in mind, it is best to stay silent when you are tempted to speak out on a subject that has already been covered. Such as if we are in a spiritual talk and Abouna has already given a word, is it truly necessary to give your two cents? Especially if all you’re doing is regurgitating what he has said. It is best to stay silent when someone comes at you with verbal assault as well, do not fight with the evil one, resist him and he will leave you. These are just a couple examples of how we can protect our souls from both vanity and temptation.
Some Bible verses on silence:
- “But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Habakkuk 2:20 NKJV
- “Let the lying lips be put to silence, Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.” Psalms 31:18 NKJV
- “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalms 46:10 NKJV. Silence when coupled with stillness is a blessing in discipline.
- “How forceful are right words! But what does your arguing prove?” Job 6:25 NKJV
Church Fathers on silence:
- “Silence is the loudest cry” HH Pope Shenouda III
- “Sometimes silence is not indicative of a lack of things to say, but a wise withdrawal until God provides the right opportunity for response.” HG Bishop Angaelos
- A brother in scetis went to ask for a word from abba Moses and the old man said to him, “Go and sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything.”
- “A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others, he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent, that is, he says nothing that is not profitable.” Abba Pimen
Glory be to God forever, Amen
Faith Unto Ages 