Learning to know when to speak.

So, as much as we need to learn the discipline of Silence, we also need to hold in balance the ability to discern when it is the right time to speak. As I quoted yesterday, Ecclesiastes 3 says:

"a time to be silent and a time to speak." (v.7)

I hope that Lent helps me to discern when the right time to speak would actually be! It is so hard to know when this really is, because I am often tempted to speak in the moment. Our world encourages everyone to have an opinion and many people 'speak' their minds without really engaging their brains, which can be disastrous. 

If we look at the example of Jesus, we notice how he remained silent in some crucial moments, but at other times, he was willing to speak with great authority. Here are two examples:

"But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” - Mark 14:61

"The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life." - John 6: 63

Question: Do you have a process that helps you to discern when to speak and when to be silent? How can we get better at learning this discipline?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Time to sleep?

I have been teaching my students on the life of Benedict this week and I have loved being re-acquainted with this man of faith. He seemed to have a good grasp of the urgency of time and sharing the gospel while we can. He is known to have said the following:

"It is time now for us to rise from sleep."

"The sleepy like to make excuses." 

It is a sad reality that the Church ends up moving into seasons of 'sleep', where we forget the urgency of the Gospel. These times of 'sleep' are different from planned 'rest' or 'sabbath', but are occasions when Christians have fallen asleep in the face of the Mission of God.

Where is your faith at the moment? Is it alive and awake or have you fallen asleep?

Mark 14:37 -"Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?"

Living in Grace
D3LM3