Rohr Then Silence

Have we rohr’d recently?  Being a fan of Father Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest and author of more than 20 books, I wolfed down his latest entitled, “Silent Compassion: Finding God in Contemplation.”   As usual, Father Rohr challenges us to be honest with ourselves and others, especially with those of other faiths. 

Consider, “…Either you see God in all things, or very quickly you cannot see God anywhere, even in your own species.  And yet, we Christians have spent the last 500 years since the Reformation dividing and deciding where God was, believing God is in our church, but not yours.  Interestingly enough, we determined it was usually ‘my church’ that God preferred and where God resided.  It was the very lie that Jesus tried to undo among his own chosen people, and he experienced the same backlash.”

Rohr then speaks of judging others that we all do because we have “judgmental, comparative, and competitive minds.”  He says, “Jesus refers to this judgmental mind.  That’s why he says, ‘Do not judge’ (Matthew 7:1).  Maybe we would simply say ‘Do not label’ things.  It is just a way of trying to take control and often a game of superiority…”

We all should remember that Jesus said: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged.  For as you judge so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.  Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?...”

Perhaps the best insight Rohr provides is this: “…All we search for is a life of more events, more situations which have to increasingly contain ever higher stimulation, more excitement, and more color, to add vital signs to our inherently bored and boring existence.  It really is the most simple and stripped down things that ironically have the power to give us the greatest happiness – if we respect them as such.  Silence is the essence of simple and stripped down.”

And what is silence?  Silence is the pause between conversations.  Silence is what makes us feel God’s presence and understand God’s will.  Silence helps us pull back from emotions that drive us always to win at someone else’s expenses, to put someone down, or to humiliate our  opponents in real or imagined contests.  Rohr calls it contemplation.

Most of us tend to roar and judge rather than using silence before we speak and then act.  So, when next we say, “Peace be with you,” let’s remember we’re really saying to that person or people, “Hesitate.  Contemplate.  Don’t humiliate.”

Deacon David Pierce