WE LIVE in an age when it has been said that the next generation will have eyes the size of cantaloupes and brains the size of peas. If it were a fact that a member of the body increased or decreased in direct proportion to the amount of exercise it received, the statement might very well prove true.
It is a fact today that because of the mass media of communication and entertainment, the average consumer spends very little time thinking. He does not have to; he does not want to; and he will do almost anything to avoid it! If he does go to a lecture it must be short and entertaining; he would much rather sit at home and watch TV or go to a movie, or become exercised —along with fifty thousand other bench-warming fans—over two dozen athletes down on the playing field.
This philosophy—and this is what we need to be concerned about—is even making itself felt in religious and church circles. People today are becoming so accustomed to being the observer that many of them no longer come to church to worship, but rather to be entertained by the minister, the choir, the other special music, or to find out about the social activities planned for the coming week. Well nigh gone is the real purpose of coming to church—to worship God. It is conceivable that someday Protestants are going to stop attending church from mere custom and find out that they can have better "entertainment" by going to a concert, some sports event, or the movies.
Should it not be our duty as Seventh-day Adventist ministers to recognize and uphold the true purpose of the church service? In this way—through a sincere and reverent worship of God—Christianity might be revitalized.
A Call to Silence
Our modern life has been summed up in three words: hurry, worry, and bury. All the modern conveniences and inventions have not made more time for thinking, for being quiet, or for worshiping. The pace, in fact, seems to have increased. Everyone is busy, in a hurry; speed is the most essential factor. In the midst of this noisy, frenzied, twentieth century a call to silence seems almost ridiculous. Yet the call comes from the highest of authorities: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).
It is a simple little formula, and perhaps that is why it is so often overlooked. It seems to have been especially overlooked, strange to say, in the church service itself. Yet it is particularly in worship that silence is proper and profitable. One writer had phrased it thus: "Silence most becomes a mere man in the presence of the Eternal." 1 Another has said: "To listen to God in worship is greater than to hear any man preach."'
As excellent as the sermon may be, if the people have just come to listen to a man and to fellowship with friends from a sense of duty or from force of habit, they have missed the real purpose and blessing. Adventists are no exception. It is no secret that our reverence has all too often been noticeable by its absence. Perhaps it is time we stopped spoon-feeding our congregations and allowed them time to think. It might prove painful at first, but everyone needs time to reflect and to worship in silent meditation.
Silent periods of prayer and meditation can do more than anything else to help one remember that he has come to worship God as well as to listen to His servant the minister.
Do We Want Silence?
A polite person does not monopolize the conversation when among earthly friends. Then why do Christians not show God the same courtesy and listen for Him to speak to them during and after their private prayers? The average Christian, when he comes to church, does not seem to worship God in this way at all.
Apparently the spoon-fed spectator does not wish to see stops or breaks in an otherwise smoothly running program; he dreads those "awful" periods of quiet. In fact, it has come to the place in some churches that if there happens to be more than a few seconds silence from the beginning of the announcements until the postlude, people think something drastic has happened to the program. Pastors and their liturgical committees have so packed the morning service that there has to be split-second timing in order to finish in the prescribed time.
However, there may be a more subtle reason behind this accelerated program; it may show an accommodation of the people's desire to have no ungainly pauses. George Fiske describes it as the "horror of the pause." He has cleverly written about this idea—held particularly by the young, perhaps—that:
Anything slow is quite intolerable. The hymns must be in double time, and every item in the service brief. If the minister pauses during the prayer or the sermon, the assumption is he is stopping for ideas. Instead of stimulating private meditation by the worshipers, the silence arouses their sympathy. They fear he has forgotten! If he waits a half minute, they are worried. He must be ill. Unless perchance he took the precaution to suggest "a few moments of silent prayer," in which case they soon get uneasy, restless, and bored. The horror of the pause is an exceedingly common experience.3
Horror or not, perhaps the noise and lack of reverence will cause us to be reminded as was Israel of old, if indeed for a different purpose, that "the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him" (Habakkuk 2:20).
Reasons for Silence
One of the main reasons for this silence has already been summarized. Silence is simply what most becomes a mere man in the presence of the Eternal. We humans are in nowise as reverent as we should be. Ellen G. White has written:
True reverence for God is inspired by a sense of His infinite greatness and a realization of His presence. . . . The hour and place of prayer are sacred, because God is there; and as reverence is manifested in attitude and demeanor, the feeling that inspires it will be deepened. "Holy and reverend is His name," the psalmist declares. Angels, when they speak that name, veil their faces. With what reverence, then, should we, who are fallen and sinful, take it upon our lips!1
It is hard to believe that mortals can be as irreverent as they are. When the sort of common whispering, talking, and laughing that takes place in the house of God is remembered, it is conceivable that a remedy is needed. Mrs. White also emphasizes:
If when people come into the house of worship, they have genuine reverence for the Lord and bear in mind that they are in His presence, there will be a sweet eloquence in silence.5
It is a lack of respect and reverence for God, then, that should make us concerned for silence in the public worship service. This meditation and silent prayer—if introduced and conducted rightly—could bring about a proper atmosphere in which to worship. It would help to correct the mistaken philosophy of the worshiper—that he has come to observe and listen but not to participate.
Acts of corporate silence in worship would draw the congregation closer together and closer to God. An integral and important part of Protestant worship, even though it may seem to be neglected and overlooked of late, should be definite and genuine participation on the part of the congregation.
Probably the best thing about this emphasis on reverence and silence is the resultant atmosphere that enhances the rest of the service. It allows the worshiper to come apart from the world and prepare himself to enjoy the blessings of the service to follow. There is no "war" between silence and the sermon; it is not a question of one or the other. They should complement each other. A period of preparation, meditation, and prayer before will do nothing but add to the blessings received from the sermon. The people will then be in a spirit of reception.
The Effect of Silence
It has often been said that "silence is golden," "still waters run deep," et cetera. There seems to be a magic appeal about it that this noisy world desperately needs. William McNutt has probably expressed it as poetically as any when he said:
Silence—let it be exalted in the churches. Not only is silence golden; it is quieting, and cleansing, and therapeutic. The folds of her garments bear beauty and health; let her be embraced.°
As difficult as it may be, if the pastor can convince his busy and preoccupied audience that there is healing balm in silent worship that will lift them Godward, the effect on the spirituality of the church will be very evident. Mrs. White has described this wonderful effect as a necessity for would-be disciples of Jesus.
We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us, "Be still, and know that I am God." Ps. 46: 10. Here alone can true rest be found. And this is the effectual preparation for all who labor for God.7
Quakers Built System on Silence
Probably those best able to tell of the effect of silence are the Quakers. They stress silence and meditation. In fact, they have built an entire system of worship on this foundation. The environment in this Society of Friends has been described as follows:
There is a spiritual unity produced in silent worship which is a familiar experience to any Friend and which constitutes one of his dearest possessions. From a living silence, from a fertile meditation, then, there grows this spiritual communion which is the finest flower of Quakerism and which is full of help and inspiration to those who have experienced it .°
To them, this sacrament of silence is a very positive act of worship.
If the Friends can gain so much from this experience, why should not all profit from it? They have no monopoly on the Holy Spirit and would be the first to admit it. It is strange (and interesting) to notice here that two extremes, the Roman Catholics and the Society of Friends, should meet. They both stress the importance of silence.
The Catholics often climax the most dramatic part of the mass by a period of silence. Should they alone receive the blessings that silence has to offer?
While discussing the effects of silence, it should be noticed that the effect is only improved by beautiful surroundings, orderliness, and soft organ music. It is not an empty quiet—a mere lack of noise—that is desirable. Nor is it spiritually dead, with secular thoughts running rampant. Rather, it is a time for reflection upon the events of the past week—our failings and God's blessings—a time for determining to do better with Christ's help, a time for thinking about others and ways to help them, a time for reflection and meditation upon the handiwork of God in nature or the guiding protection of His hand, a time of attentiveness for the still small voice of God, a time for sincere, reverent, silent prayer.
If the pastor gives the reasons and advantages of silence, introducing it effectively with appropriate Scripture and a suitable background, it will prove an excellent means of worship.
A Place for Silence
Perhaps the most natural and best place to initiate silence would be in the communion service. Because the Lord's Supper is a sacrament and a symbol, great liturgies have been built up around it. Most of them include silence because words are simply not adequate. There is probably no better time when man's meditation can draw him closer to God. Yet sometimes there are ministers who are so afraid to pause—a few seconds of silence—that they will hasten to fill the time with meaningless words that detract rather than add to the service.
The beginning of any church service is another appropriate time for silence. How refreshing it is to see someone come into church and bow in silent prayer instead of turning to the bulletin to see the social events for the coming week. What a worship service would result if everyone simply paused to ask for a blessing at the beginning.
If silence will do so much for us, perhaps it would be wise to include it in the regular order of service for the hour of worship—not too long a period, just two to five minutes immediately before the pastoral prayer, for example. In Fiske's book The Recovery of Worship he gives an excellent outline of a "Service of Silence" as used by a minister friend.' It provides worth-while ideas, worthy of trying in many more places.
A place for silence in worship is necessary and vital for proper reverence to God. It is used by some in private devotions and in everyday life. Why not make the blessings of reverent, living, silent meditation and prayer available in the public worship service also?
However, there are definite extremes to silence. Perhaps the best example is to think of a man who has loved his wife in silence for forty long years, and with a very genuine love; but think you not that it would greatly have cheered her heart had he occasionally become vocal, even enthusiastically vocal, about his affection? " lAre are also told in the Bible, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise" (Ps. 98:4). This, of course, has its rightful place, but people today who are already driven by the clamors and complexities of a blatant, boisterous world need the blessed ministries of silence. It is the silence, not the noise, that is currently lacking and needs to be restored in many of the churches so they may become true temples where God may dwell and be worshiped.
REFERENCES
1 William Roy McNutt, Worship in the Churches (Philadelphia: The Judson Press, 1941), p. 131.
2 George W. Fiske, The Recovery of Worship (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1931), p. 85.
3 ibid., p. 95.
4 Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, p. 178.
5__________________ , Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 492. (Italics supplied.)
6 McNutt, op. cit., p. 94.
7 White, The Desire of Ages, p. 363.
8 W. W. Comport, The Friends' Theory of Worship," The Christian Century, March 19, 1930, p. 366.
9 Fiske, op. cit., pp. 100-103.
10 McNutt, op. cit., p. 93.
