Have you ever noticed how noisy our world is today? Television, radios, ipods, and a host of other things that fill every moment of our lives with chatter constantly bombard us. It’s no wonder we don’t hear God … there’s no quiet or room for God to squeeze into the busyness and noise of the modern world. Archbishop Desmond Tutu talks about the importance of stillness in his book “God Has A Dream.” He challenges us to stop all the “doing” so that we might live into “being” what God desires.
I remember one of the times I had the chance to hear Tutu speak. It was a Diocesan Convention and I came early to the hall, well before anyone else (a habit of mine). There he was sitting quietly, alone in the auditorium. When Tutu moved, I approached him. We talked about the importance of being quiet in the course of the day. Tutu said he liked to enter the church, chapel or hall wherever he was before he was to speak. He liked to be in the place, quiet, still and listening. I was dumbfounded to hear him say this, as this has often been my practice. It is as important for us to be still and as it is for us to be moving!
Tutu shares that being still is not just a practice for the monks and nuns and occasionally a priest … it’s for all of Jesus’ disciples. “Be still and know that I am God …” what clearer invitation do we need to retreat from our manic busyness and spend time with God? There are several passages in the Gospels when Jesus retreated to be alone … to pray, to be in God’s presence. Why is it that we think we need to constantly be doing to be faithful Christians? It’s just as important to take time, to pause for prayer or reflection, for Bible reading or just being quiet so that God can get through all the noise and speak to us.
I like what Tutu has to say that it’s like sitting by a warm fire on a cold day (a favorite thing of mine to do!). Just being there begins to transform us. The longer we sit by the fire and look into its brightness, the warmer we become, the softer life becomes and the transformation takes place so that we can become one with the fire! The moments of stillness and quiet can brings us closer to Jesus, closer to God and renew the fire inside of us. The reality is that our internal flame in our souls grows dim and nearly extinguished without rekindling it in the presence of God.
My son, Sean, is an actor. He got his mother’s good looks and my love for times of quiet. I watch him perform different people in different plays on stage. Sometimes he will be performing two entirely different plays at the same time. It takes concentration and energy to become the characters he performs. But he shares with me the need to be quiet, to let go of the last character he has performed in order return to being himself. He needs the renewal of space and stillness before he can focus on the next character, the next production, and the next set of demands on the next stage. Like me, he cherishes those times when he go for a quiet walk, sit in a park and read a book, daydream by the shore and renew his soul.
This is what God desires … those opportunities to be with us away from all the hustle and bustle. These are the places where God meets us, and renews us. Maybe it’s the time in the morning when we awake in house before all others. This may be the time we have for prayers, a cup of coffee or tea. Maybe it’s the time in the afternoon when we leave the office to come back to a quiet house to read, rest and be alone ... just God and us. Maybe it’s at the end of the day, when everyone is in bed, and we turn off the television or computer and meet God in the quiet of the night. Maybe it’s on the retreat we take, away from the usual busyness and in a place dedicated to prayer, reflection, quiet and the opportunity just to be with God.
Archbishop Tutu shares wonderful insight into what has helped him to face a life pursuit of seeking peace and justice. The invitation to him is the one God gives to us … come away for a while and be with me … and I will refresh and renew you. May we find the way to be quiet, to share in the stillness and find the deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ that Tutu shows in his life. May we become part of God’s dream and find the renewal and love that awaits us in just being on of God’s children.
By Rev. Dr. Patrick R. Close, Grace Church, Haddonfield, NJ
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