The Spirituality of the Christian East — 20151220

Ladder of Divine AccentAs we contemplate John’s 11th Step on the Ladder, we might ask, “Why is so much importance attached to silence in all forms of spirituality?” Because the more we speak, the less we listen; the more we hear the sound of our own voice, the more we drown out the silent voice of our conscience.

I am sure we have all experienced the harm one word too many can do. Consider how many times you, or someone you know, has made an off-the-cuff remark or bad joke that has caused someone to have hurt feelings or poisoned a friendship. Now consider how many times you have spent hours happily chatting to people and then walked away feeling empty insider or overloaded with pointless information, along with a sudden urge for peace and a burning need to just get away and to retreat into silence.

A fundamental principle of Christian spirituality is that our whole being – every part of us – is to be disciplined, purified and given to God. This applies also to the tongue. St. James writes in his Epistle: “If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body”.

Eastern Christian spirituality is truly wholesome asceticism. By this I mean our focus is not on a particular sin or faculty. Many Christian groups seem to focus entirely on one particular sin or passion, be it premarital sex, drug addiction, alcoholism or abortion. The result is a fanatical obsession with one vice at the cost of all else.

The goal of Eastern spirituality is union with God and not merely avoiding sin, much less any one particular sin. It therefore stands to reason that talkativeness, which many may consider a very minor fault, is considered as much a passion and a tool of sin as any other vice. If we are to hear God speak, we must be silent.

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