Â鶹ԼÅÄ

Good morning.

When I was a chaplain of a specialist cancer hospital, I often faced the question of when to speak, what to say and when to remain silent as I spent time with patients and their families. In many respects, our understanding of wisdom is closely connected to our use of language. We praise ‘wise words’ and may seek ‘words of wisdom’ from a respected teacher. But many religious traditions also understand that there is a wordless quality to wisdom, a quality that is only encountered in silence. Indeed, silence itself is often seen as the ultimate expression of wisdom.

Here are words from the 20th century monk Thomas Merton’s poem Hagia Sophia, which I’ve been exploring during this week:

O blessed, silent one who speaks everywhere!

We do not hear the soft voice, the gentle voice …

Yet she is the candour of God’s light, the expression of His simplicity.

To enter into silence is to embrace the condition of openness, of generous emptiness, which allows our minds to settle into a stillness like that of a clear pond or unblemished mirror, able to reflect all things perfectly and without distortion. This is the depth of wisdom. To trust in silence is to let go of our familiar concepts and allow ourselves to see things as they are without adding layers of interpretation or meaning. It’s a process of simplification, not of elaboration. To be enlightened, to shine with the light of God, is to be as simple and clear as light itself. 

Holy wisdom of God,

As we set out on this new day,

May we find time for silence,

Allowing our minds to rest from their busyness

And opening ourselves to the simplicity of your light.

Take us deeper into that place where we encounter you most truly,

That place of still waters and refreshing brightness.

Amen.