They fell down and worshiped -
A reflection I wrote for church but which I decided not to present.....
The art of silence before the mystery -
I want to suggest a creative art which you may discover
brings life into focus. Some of you here
may have uncovered this treasure and some of you may be connoisseurs having
tasted the flavours of this art. It can be sophisticated or simple and it requires
no equipment.
It's an art form that I teach. This year I was asked to
teach at a city centre for people experiencing homelessness and marginalisation and I have a group of older people who are
experiencing forms of homelessness. Many of them feel pain, stress, anxiety and
grief and while the art form that I teach is not a magic wand it does enable
some of them to find the way and to find a better nights sleep or to go to the
supermarket without having an anxiety attack.
What is this art form? It comes by many names but I will
simply call it the art of silence. I will call it the art of being present and
paying attention. It is an art because the world in which we live is training
us to be distracted and amused to death. I call it the art of silence before
mystery.
'They fell down and worshiped'. You know the story
perhaps too well to notice just how subversive it seeks to be. It's a story
that invites us to take part. There is no mention of three Magi, no mention of
camels no mention of a manger. The house in Bethlehem could be any house
including yours or mine.
I see these seekers who have looked up and seen the star
and asked 'where and why' as wise as Socrates. He wandered ancient Athens
asking supposedly knowledgeable people as well as artisans and army generals
where and why and came to the conclusion that wisdom consisting as knowing how
little he knew and that while a person could define the questions eventually
when it came to discussions of love, death or courage words would give out.
Then the art of silence in the mystery begins.
I teach my students simply to practice being present to
breathing, to their body, to their thoughts and to observe these as if they
were watching over a tiny new born baby. Distractions will arise along the path
but it's all about following the star of silence until the seeker arrives at a
sense of being at home with silence and learns to fine tune making choices that
serve them.
Notice in the story the three gifts of gold, frankincense
and myrrh. Gold needs no explanation, incense offered to the gods or Roman
Emperor, and myrrh to embalm the body of a ruler. I suggest to you that these
are to one extent or another the burdens we carry. The gold of possessions that
we can use to define us, the frankincense of status and what others think of
us, the desire to be 'on trend' and the myrrh which is the fear and avoidance
of our death and the knowledge that within a few years we will be all but
forgotten. The art of silence helps us to release our often tight grip on these
things, to become more detached and to discover the real treasure. All the best
things in life after all are not things but qualities. This is the real
subversion that the art of silence in the mystery brings.
I see the wise seekers simply being and sitting in the
presence of the child watching and waiting, paying attention conscious that
they are in the presence of great mystery. Earlier today I sat with a member of
this community in intensive care keeping them company, holding their hand. What
can be more precious than this silent a compliment. These fragile moments come
and go. Only a breath holds us this side of life.
Silence in the presence of the Mystery of it all can be a
single conscious breath, a sip of coffee, an hour on the meditation cushion,
worship in church anything that takes us deeper into the amazement and
appreciation that opens our heart wider.
The art of silence being in the presence of the mystery
is at the heart of all authentic philosophies and religions. Sadly often we
have given the impression to the wider world that you have to rush around busy
the whole time and feel endlessly guilty. To me the essence of faith is silent
contemplation and then doing a few things to try and make the world slightly
more bearable.
To my conclusion. You don't have to believe in God to
practice the art of silence, you don't have to know lots of things and you
don't need other people. Teachers only point the way and sometimes those you
think are wise are not wise at all.
The star is your question 'where' and 'why'. Try it,
simply be present to the mystery. The mystery of your aliveness, the mystery of
love, the mystery of the universe, the mystery of suffering, the weird strangeness of your conscious existence. Why
not make the most of this beautiful art of silence in the presence.
Our lives are like the blink of an eye compared to a
star. Why waste these precious moments. The art of silence, being still before
the mystery and strangeness calls to each of us. Find the space, lose your
busyness, notice the ways you distract yourself?
The mystery of our dream as we gaze on the Christ child
the symbol of beauty, truth and goodness - the Eternal Wisdom of the universe.
May we return home by another path and begin to live differently moment
by unfolding moment. The star now is within leading us further up and further
in beyond the words, beyond our Herod like desire to control, releasing us to
live moment by moment in the silent presence of mystery.
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