"Be still, and know that I am God" - Psalms 46:10

In the midst of all the discussion about what needs to change in the way we "frame" the Gospel- so that it makes sense in a postmodern context, it's helpful to remember that while these somewhat external presentations do need to adapt and change over time and across cultures, that the more individual aspects and practices of the Faith, for the most part, stay the same. One such aspect of personal devotion to Christ that is essential in any and every context is what is often referred to as silence and solitude.

"We need silence in order to be able to touch souls."

This is a famous quote from Mother Teresa of Calcutta. While Mother Teresa was, by her own admission, a simple servant of Christ, the sentiment she shares here is essential for all believers, regardless of intellectual or "spiritual" prowess and/or cultural context. While our corporate expressions of faith should and do change over time (though not just for the sake of change hopefully), the reason why practices such as contemplative prayer do not, is that the human being is a much more consistent entity than are societies and cultures. And as such, the same elements that were essential for spiritual formation 5000, 500, or 50 years ago, remain just as vital today.

In fact, in regards to cultural shifts such as the one that we're seeing now -where our culture moves from a modern to a postmodern milieu, the only way to chart these corporate waters safely is through the collective strength of men and women who first and foremost- know themselves in God. This knowing has to become before (that is to say in a more primary way) than any knowledge of oneself "in culture".

But just because something is essential certainly does not mean that it is easy or basic. I have recently been reading Thomas Merton's classic on this subject, titled "Seeds of Contemplation". Merton does a masterful job of outlining the degree to which contemporary society is what you might term "noise-obsessive". Merton goes on to address the respective dangers of "islandness"- where we pursue solitude for the wrong reasons, verses the dangers of faceless immersion in the crowd. Clearly he sees the dangers of the latter as being greater than the former.

"Physical solitude has its dangers, but we must not exaggerate them. The great temptation of modern (and postmodern) man is not physical solitude but immersion in the mass of other men, not escape to the mountains or the desert (would that more men were so tempted!) but escape into the great formless sea of irresponsibility which is the crowd. There is actually no more dangerous solitude than that of the man who is lost in a crowd, who does not know he is alone and who does not function as a person in community either."

Interestingly enough, Merton was writing in the early 60's. How much more "evolved" and acute is the situation today? Without a doubt, we as a culture have taken "noise" (meaning media and corporate distraction) to an entirely new level. And as such silence and solitude is more important than ever.

Actually, the expression "silence and solitude" can be a little misleading in our contemporary culture. When we think of "silence" we often think of the absence of sound. But the concept is much more involved than that. For those of us who exist (in part at least) in the "blogoshere", or in the larger realm of cyberspace (even if it is for the redemptive purpose of growing a "cyber-church"), its important to remember that staring at a "silent", scrolling screen of visual media is not really "silence" in the sense that is meant to be associated with a contemplative life. Silence, as we mean to use it, in a larger context refers to what is often called "stillness of mind". And for that stillness to take root, we much exercise the banishment of all media- (this online magazine is no exception!).

While Mark Twain was right when he said that there are two kinds of lies, "damn lies" and the quoting of statistics, the evidence in this regard is overwhelming. We are a society, completely, unabashedly, obsessed with filling our minds with "noise"- be it pleasant white noise" that we mistake for stillness, or the outright love of audio-visual stimulation. Have a look at some of these statistics regarding North Americans and their television habits alone:

Percentage of households that possess at least one television: 99
Number of TV sets in the average U.S. household: 2.24
Percentage of U.S. homes with three or more TV sets: 66
Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes
Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66
Number of hours of TV watched annually by Americans: 250 billion

So what do we do with this? Is this merely the evolution of culture- of a form that we should embrace the same way that we embrace helpful postmodern expressions such as spiritual mystery? No, I don't think so. I remember a friend of mine saying that we should embrace the short attention span syndrome that many teenagers have developed as "a sign of the times"- like in some neutral sense. But this is an illusion. Short attention spans are not apt to embrace the contemplative life that is an essential aspect of life in Christ. While we need to speak to, and to some extent move, amongst the MTV reality- we cannot "become it". If we do, we necessarily loose something else- something much more valuable than cultural relevance.

This is one of those hills that we need to die on. If we let go of the contemplative life that comes with stillness of mind then we will loose our ability to individually and corporately discern the will of God and even to know ourselves via our primary identity "in God". And this of course is one of those ultimate battles you don't want to loose. If there's anything we have to offer our culture as a gem that is seldom discovered- it is the stillness of heart and mind that we find in a contemplative existence in God.

That is not to say that this gift is shiny and new and easily consumed. On the contrary, in many ways, it is unbearably difficult. I myself have a long way to go in growing a true contemplative nature. But even so, the fruit of growing in this area is immeasurably greater than the cost spent to "achieve it"; though we know of course that you can't strive to accomplish this. Surrender is the key to the process. And this is the part that includes the engagement of our will. But from there it is the activity of the Holy Spirit that connects us to the Divine Heart- and not the other way around.

It's beyond the scope of this article to discuss all that is involved in developing the practices that produce a truly contemplative approach to life. And I certainly don't claim to be any expert on the subject. And one must truly own something before one can lead others forward. But what I can own is the absolute conviction that a contemplative life is essential if we are to be the ambassadors of Christ that we've been called to be. You see, the contemplative life is not just necessary to develop a close, intimate connection with the triune God, but it's vitally necessary to do anything that expresses Kingdom values (i.e. evangelism, social justice, etc, etc…)

We know that Jesus regularly retreated in silence and solitude to connect with the Father. And surely this was a necessary root in His ability to carry out the mission he had been given. Why would we assume this would be any less the case in our own lives, in our own missional contexts? If we're going to be able to speak a new and compelling story of faith to a postmodern, media-obsessed culture, then surely we must spend as much- if not more- time withdrawing from the culture, as we do interacting with and in it. If we don't do this, one wonders if there is any real meaning for us at all in the expression "in the world, but not of it."