Advent Daily Devotionals - Wisdom Speaks into Silence - 14th Dec

WISDOM SPEAKS INTO SILENCE

Daily Reading for Friday December 14, 2018

First Reading: Isaiah 48:17-19
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6
Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19

First Reading: Isaiah 48:17-19

Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am Yahweh your God and teach you for your own good, I lead you in the way you ought to go.

If only you had listened to my commandments! Your prosperity would have been like a river and your saving justice like the waves of the sea.

Your descendants would have been numbered like the sand, your offspring as many as its grains. Their name would never be cancelled or blotted out from my presence.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6

How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread, nor a seat in company with cynics,

but who delights in the law of Yahweh and murmurs his law day and night.

Such a one is like a tree planted near streams; it bears fruit in season and its leaves never wither, and every project succeeds.

How different the wicked, how different! Just like chaff blown around by the wind the wicked will not stand firm at the Judgement nor sinners in the gathering of the upright.

For Yahweh watches over the path of the upright, but the path of the wicked is doomed.

Gospel, Matthew 11:16-19

'What comparison can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:

We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn't dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn't be mourners.

'For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He is possessed."

The Son of man came, eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.'

Writer’s reflection

“I am Yahweh your God and teach you for your own good, I lead you in the way you ought to go”.

As a student I often found myself switching between the false dichotomy of my ‘Catholic life’ and ‘the real world’. I loved my relationship with Jesus deeply; I loved the beauty of mass, the peace I found in prayer and the deep acceptance I found in my Catholic friendships. I also deeply loved the secular world outside the chaplaincy doors and wanted to hold onto these activities and friendships as they were. I wanted the potential of living without clear boundaries and didn’t acknowledge how destructive this way of thinking was to my desire to be guided by God. I feared that by letting God guide me in every aspect of my life, I would suffer the loss of everything I found joyful in the ‘real world’.

By living this way, developing dual personas to fit into my environment, what suffered first (and the most) was my words; my willingness to pause, ponder and speak truth into a situation – especially against my automatic responses or defences. These didn’t have to be a significantly difficult or ‘religious’ conversation – it could be as ordinary as remarking “come on, man up”. When we fail to recognise and accept that our vocation is lived in this one world at every level we compromise our ability to use partake in God’s creative work of love through our primary gift: our words.

When communication is about utility or simply reacting to what is being said to us; we often don’t pause to realise the immense creative power our words have, and how distorting the true purpose of words is destructive to ourselves and others. In today’s readings, seeking the council of ‘wisdom’ is the antidote to the destruction caused by accusations, miscommunication and the unwillingness to hear God’s truth and, therefore, speak the truth.

“If only you had listened to my commandments!”  Listening – the reciprocal of speaking – is the stepping stone to allowing ourselves to seek what is spiritual, to judge the things of this world with eternal value. When we listen in attentive silence we are allowing God’s word to reveal truth – to be a force of creation within us. I’ve realised that rather than ‘actions speak louder than words’ our words are active and we are responsible for how we use them. Our words can cause pain that heals slower than any wound, or to bring healing quicker than any balm or medication -  and reveal the truth and infinite value in ourselves and in others. As we wait this Advent, let us like Mary, pause and ponder what wisdom is speaking into our internal silence, and turn our words into movements of love. 

Often, when we think about the power of our words in relation to faith we tend to link this with practises such as gossiping, ‘preaching’ about our faith in an argumentative way or using harsh, judgemental words. These ‘big’ examples are absolutely true, but I invite you to go a bit deeper in understanding how much your words mean by reflecting on these questions:

1.    What are my own personal values and how do I communicate these?

2.    What are the values my Catholic faith teaches and how do I communicate these?

3.    What are the intentions that drive my words?

Personally, I have found that my words and the way I communicate are aligned least with my personal values and the way I wanted to treat others when I am very nervous/ anxious, stressed, sleep deprived or (you’ve guessed it) been drinking. Mindfulness in speech gives us the space to slow down and consider what is both loving, compassionate and necessary. Whether it be a difficult ethics conversation, a group chat among friends, a work meeting or university seminar when truthfulness is our goal rather than being right or pleasing our companions, we not only honour and respect those around us but we are more ourselves.

 

Prayer intention:

Holy Spirit, help me to seek the wisdom and courage to speak what is true, especially when I am afraid of what needs to be said or when I am tempted speak without thinking.

Help me to be attentive to the words I speak to myself and others, to slow down and listen more. 

Writer's Bio: Kirsten Marys Brown

Hey guys - I’m Kirsten! You’ll always catch me with a book to hand (currently I’m reading Brene Brown’s ‘Daring Greatly’ and JPII’s ‘Love and Responsibility’) and a big ol’ smile! I love all things absurd, surreal and everything to do with the brain. I could eat pistachio ice-cream all dang year and I write poetry about mental health and identity (IG @kirsten_marys). I’m an anthropologist and neuroscientist, though when I’m not doing either of those I’m probably watching The Office…

My message? Living life with purity of intention and deep vulnerability means I’m going to get my butt kicked, face pain and disappointment, but I’m also going to experience joy and deep love in my relationships and a sense of worthiness before God. Go read/watch Brene Brown now!

“[Real] doesn’t happen all at once” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

(The Velveteen Rabbit)