The Gospel in Practice: Silence & Solitude
October 6, 2013
Mark 1:32-39
1.
Introduction
a. We are examining the spiritual disciplines or practices of the Christian faith which help us connect to God on a
deeper level and order our lives.
b. This week: silence and solitude which presents a unique challenge for us in particular
i. Silence runs counter to our normal lives living with busy schedules in a fast paced city
ii. Some of us have an easier time with silence and solitude (I as an introvert love solitude because it
recharges me but I don’t practice silence and solitude the way Jesus does)
c. Jesus’ practice of solitude and silence are unique
i. Context: (v. 36—“everyone is looking for you”) He just started his job. He is in the “honeymoon period”
of his work and he is wildly successful as his job. Jesus is being sought out for public appearances, his
popularity is soaring, and he’s got a full staff working for him. How would you react if in the same
situation?
ii. When things are going well for us, we tend to want to fill up our calendar, spread ourselves out, commit
to multiple projects, etc.
iii. But Jesus does the exact opposite: he retreats to be alone, in silence and pray.
1. Some may say “Yes, but he’s Jesus—a religious leader—of course this is what he will do.” But in
reality, he is Jesus—he’s God incarnate, full of His Father’s essence, and still he wants more time
to be alone, silent and pray to God!!
2. The Sound and Fury of Our Lives
a. Why is it that we can’t have this balanced life that Jesus shows—one of immense activity and meaningful work
and yet restful silence and solitude? Because the pace of our lives reflects on the value we bring to this world—
we must always be doing because just simply being looks lazy.
b. We crave being “busy” because it gives us validation
i. Tim Kreider (NY Times): If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot
of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re
doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the
stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the
opposite”…. Almost everyone I know is busy. They feel anxious and guilty when they aren’t either working
or doing something to promote their work. They schedule in time with friends the way students with 4.0
G.P.A.’s make sure to sign up for community service because it looks good on their college applications.
I recently wrote a friend to ask if he wanted to do something this week, and he answered that he didn’t
have a lot of time but if something was going on to let him know and maybe he could ditch work for a
few hours. I wanted to clarify that my question had not been a preliminary heads-up to some future
invitation; this was the invitation. But his busyness was like some vast churning noise through which he
was shouting out at me, and I gave up trying to shout back over it…Busyness serves as a kind of
existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or
meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.
c. This is best seen in Matthew 17—the transfiguration where Elijah and Moses come down and they are talking to
Jesus. But in verse 4, the Greek says that “And answering, Peter said to them…if you wish, I will make three tents.”
But no one was even speaking to Peter! Still, he needed to do something and couldn’t just stay silent.
d. “Every time we speak, our heart is on parade.”—speaking, noise, busyness are all ways to parade ourselves
3. The Solitude and Silence of the Christian Life
a. What then is the alternative? Silence and solitude—but to what end? Why is silence and solitude so important in
the Christian life?
i. “The Bet” by Anton Chekov. End of story: “Tomorrow at twelve o’clock I shall be free...but before leaving
this room…I find it necessary to say a few words to you…All is worthless and false, hollow and deceiving
like the mirage. You may be proud, wise and beautiful but death will wipe you away from the face of the
earth, as it does the mice that live beneath your floor; your heirs, your history, your immortal geniuses
will freeze or burn with the destruction of the earth.” He renounces the money and leaves the bet early.
ii. For him, silence and solitude revealed the mirage—he didn’t need these things, he didn’t need to be
wanted. He saw the finality of life and that he would ultimately be wiped away like the mice.
iii. Silence and solitude gave the lawyer perspective on life
b. Surely, this is why Jesus always retreated—because he knew that his life’s value wasn’t directly measured by the
fullness of his schedule. He had the freedom to be silent—which is freedom from the value system of the world
that says “be busy or you’re worthless”—Jesus knew where his true self-worth lay and he and the freedom from
judgment to seek solitude and silence.
c. How can we get this same confidence to be comfortable in the silence? Simply clearing our schedules won’t do
it—“busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness.” We have to fill the emptiness
inside with something or we’ll never have the ability to be comfortable in the silence and to seek it out to be with
God.
i. There was another time that Jesus retreated into silence—Luke 22:39 “he came out and went…” to the
garden to pray. Here Jesus kneels at night, in silence, alone and about to be utterly abandoned by his
friends, followers and ultimately his own father. He received “cosmic silence” so that you and I, in the
silence of our lives, know that we are valued much much more than the mice from the short story. We
will be wiped away from the face of the earth so why do we need to fill our calendars and schedules now
in order to feel important? The gospel says you will be wiped away but you’ll come to live in true glory
on that day.
d. The gospel gives us peace because Jesus took on the ultimate silence on our behalf—so that we can be
comfortable in the silence here now. We try to fill our hearts with everything else to give us value and yet we lead
only busier, more hectic, stressful lives.
i. We can either be a Macbeth: “Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player. That struts and frets his hour
upon the stage. And then is heard no more: it is a tale. Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
ii. Or we can let the gospel free us to be a John Newton who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace”: Yea, when
this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and
peace.
e. The gospel grants us peace from having to find our value in our busyness. The gospel gives us the assurance that
if we only still our hearts in silence and solitude we can hear the words of our heavenly Father saying “You are
good. You are precious.”
4. Conclusion
a. Practical: Begin by taking five minutes a day—going somewhere without noise, turning off your phone, not where
near a computer or any noise. Just sit—can you do that without feeling like you’re not making progress? Jesus did
it, how much more can we then do the same? Practice small moments of silence and solitude. Just be instead of
do. Sit and rest for a short time in silence. Experience how God will whisper to you in these times.
b. Possible book suggestions to read more about the practice of silence and solitude: Life Together by Boenhoffer
(see his chapters “The Day Together” and “The Day Alone”), The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila, The
Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis