SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai
We are creatures of words. Words help us to vocalize what the heart speaks in the gentle space of warmth. Yet, words are themselves empty and devoid of meaning in a saturated manner. Sometimes, the best words to be spoken are the words of silence. Silence is its own language and conveys its own meaning which no words can mimic.
As scholars who are trained in the word of God, words have a special place in how we convey the wonderful work of God to others. We use words like a trumpet on a mountain top announcing loudly the beauty of God. Over time, we get so used to this process that we believe that only through words can we speak of the glory of God to the world.
But we forget that God is a God of silence. We have mistakenly grasped the notion of God as the God who speaks the Logos into being. We forget that the Logos is a Word of Silence and not of words. In silence God speaks. In silence does one hear God who is the God of silence. But what do I mean here by silence? Silence does not mean the absence of speech. Silence can exist even in the domain of speech because it is speech in a deeper form. Silence can exist in the domain of words. But such silence calls for a deeper turn to introspection that allows for a healthy extrospection to be realized.
The God of silence is encountered in a manner when the logic of the sound of words are upended. This only occurs when one is allowed to journey through that kenotic experience of the dark night of the soul. That space where no words can be spoken to bring forth meaning in a world of an avalanche of suffering and negations, there is where the God of silence is encountered. This God that is encountered comes as one who speaks only the language of love as embrace of the other just as a mother embraces her beloved child in need of maternal love.
Only in suffering can one come to this place and understand this experience in a deeper manner. Listening to a friend of mine who has gone through a lot in her life and hearing how she sees the enduring presence of God in her life makes me to realize how this God of silence is also the God of meaning that we each must encounter in our lives as we embark on our respective journeys through life.
Good theology must always be done with a sense of awareness of the God of silence who stands beside the theologian and whispers in silence the insights of life that the theologian must make all effort to convey to the world through the insufficient tool of words in their possession. A theologians, sometimes, our best works may arise in the world of silence, especially when the world expects us to speak words. Maybe we should be learning how to do theology through silence if we are to be familiar with the God of silence.
Reflection on April 15, 2024
Anniversary of my baptism.
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