SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT 2016 The Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick 2014 I. Today, on this second Sunday of Great Lent, we remember St Gregory Palamas, the 14 th century theologian and archbishop of Thessalonica. We remember him for coming to the defense of monastics who claimed that they had received a vision of Christ, bathed in light, the same light that the apostles experienced on Mt Tabor when our Lord was transfigured before them. These monks claimed that this gift had been given to them by God and was made possible through silence and interior prayer. These monks were given the name hesychasts, which means, quiet ones. St Gregory came to their defense because many rejected and laughed at their claim. II. Through the centuries, the experience of the hesychasts is not unique. Besides the apostles Peter, James, and John, 1
we know that many others had this same experience, among them St Seraphim, and St Sergius of Radonenz, who experienced it while serving Liturgy, St Gregory Palamas himself. They all described it as deep experience of joy of God s presence, a heavenly warmth. Simply, a taste of heaven. The common thread in all of their experiences was they had learned inward stillness. And it was this stillness that made it possible for them to be present with God. So, learning inner quietness and stillness is an important key for us, an important spiritual tool for us that helps us to meet God on a deeper level. We may never be given the gift of seeing the divine light, but God calls each of us to meet Him more fully. III. One way to achieve stillness is through silence. And it is here that we run into trouble. The truth is we hate silence, and because of that we never get to stillness. It is important to note that the two silence and stillness - are 2
different. I can be silent yet filled with anxiety or fear or rage. But if I never try to be silent, I may never achieve an inner quietness. Achieving silence is not easy. We have plenty of negative experiences of silence. Silence makes us feel uncomfortable and uneasy. We may remember the awkward silence we felt when we were on a blind date or feeling ill at ease when words we would wish to say to someone in their loss don t come to us. Sometimes, we use silence to punish another the so-called silent treatment. Sometimes we may have punished our children by sending them to their rooms and telling them to be quiet. So, silence (stillness) has gotten a bum-wrap. But contrary to opinion, silence has an essential spiritual quality. It is indispensible in knowing God. The saints of the church speak of silence as the safest way to God. St Ambrose of Milan, for instance, once wrote: I have seen many being saved by silence but not one person by talkativeness. 3
V. Here are some things to consider when it comes to silence. Words, more often than not, lead us to sin they get us into trouble. How many times we have said to ourselves I shouldn t have said that. In his epistle, St James wrote that the tongue is a fire, which can corrupt the whole person. In addition, the hymns of Great Lent warn us of the dangers of the tongue: set a watch, O Lord, over my mouth and keep the door of my lips. During this season we also pray the Prayer of St Ephraim where we ask God to take away the spirit of idle talk, that is, talk just for sake of talk. VI. Silence, however, can protect the life of God within us. One of the spiritual writers in the church Diadochus of Photiki wrote: When the door of the steambath is continually left open, the heat inside rapidly escapes through it; like the soul, in its desire to say many things, dissipates it remembrance of God through the door of speech, even though everything it says may be 4
good. Seek therefore, timely speech. There is a beautiful icon of St John the Evangelist in which he has his finger over his lips. It depicts a man who has perceived the Holy and wishes to protect it, only to share it when God deems it necessary. VII. Silence teaches us how to speak, because words have lost their meaning words like love freedom, and truth. Because of their overuse, we have diluted and weakened them. Only silence helps us to retrieve their power and meaning. VIII. And silence helps us to learn how to become still. It is in stillness that we have an ear to listen to God instead of being deaf to Him. Stillness helps us to become attentive, focused, and more alert for his direction. Stillness allows us to be all ear to God. Stillness, therefore, is not an absence but rather an experience of a presence the presence of God. It is through stillness that our souls can discover restfulness. There is a 5
beautiful image regarding this in the Psalms. This is how it reads: O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother s breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul. We know what it s like when an infant is hungry and frustrated. The shrill of their cry can be hard to hear. But we also know how quiet the child becomes when it feeds from and feels the security of the mother. King David who wrote this Psalm was surrounded by enemies, but he knew how to quiet and calm his soul. He discovered it in stillness in the presence of God. IX. St Gregory Palamas reminds us of the value of learning how to be still, and it is important for us to implement it in our lives. So, here is an exercise for you and me that I hope you will try for the rest of Lent and beyond. Before you begin your day, and before you 6
begin your morning prayer, stand or sit and quiet yourself. Train yourself to be present in the moment. Thank God for the day. Ask Him to be present with you in the moment. Focus on Him. After a minute or two, then begin your morning prayer. It is in those moments of stillness that we will begin to understand what God meant when He said: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. Amen. 7