Lyrical Assembly

https://www.lyricalopposition.org/archive/advent-blue-christmas-service

Advent: Blue Christmas Service — Lyrical Opposition On December 13th, Lyrical Assembly hosted its first-ever Blue Christmas Service at 298 San Bruno Ave in Brisbane, CA—a space that had been vacant for most of the year. The night marked not only the first service and event held there in a long time, but also Lyrical Assembly’s first gathering in ...

Day 8: Silence is Golden

Psalm 23:2-5
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Reflection
One of the temptations that the current moment brings is to withdraw and fall silent. It is not the kind of withdrawal that Jesus calls us to - a retreat from the bustle that leads to prayer and renewal. Rather, it is a retreat driven by despair that leads to self-preservation and numbness. Some forms of silence can be “golden” as the old expression goes. But there is another form of silence, shrouded in darkness, that wastes away our bones. It is the darkness of tombs of our own making that leaves us impotent to walk with Jesus in a world in need of hope.The beauty of silence invites us to quiet our minds and be in the present with Creator. Instead of praying, to speak, pray to listen. Silence can be practiced to empower to create the change that needs to happen.

Spiritual Practice: Silence
Set a period (5 mins minimum) in which you don’t speak and isolate yourself from sounds, possibly in nature. Notice what you are thinking. Notice what you are feeling.What revelation is Creator sharing with you?

Prayer
Second Lazarus
by Madeleine L’Engle

O come, dear Lord, unbind: like Lazarus, I
Lie wrapped in stifling grave clothes of self-will.
Come give me life that I to death may die.
I stink: the grave of sin is worm-filled still
Despite our turning from its rottenness,
Unwilling to admit that we are bound,
Too proud to mention our begottenness.
Come, open sin’s sarcophagus. I’m wound
In selfishness, self-satisfaction, pride,
Fear of change, demands of love, greed,
Self-hate, sweet sins that come in fair disguise.
Help me accept this death and open wide the tight-closed tomb. If pain comes as we’re freed,
your daylight must have first hurt Lazarus’s eyes.