Photo by frankieleon

By Sharon Lee Song

In 2005, a documentary film called Into Great Silence was released, capturing a rare glimpse of the intimate, ascetic world of the Carthusian monks of Grand Chartreuse monastery in the French Alps.  Visitors are not permitted, and generally the monks do not have contact with the outside world.  The director of the film, Philip Groning, proposed the idea of the film in 1984, but the monks said that they wanted time to think about it.  The monks responded to Groning 16 years later, saying that they were willing to permit him to film if he was still interested.  Rushing into the decision didn’t seem to be an issue for this monastic community, so my curiosity was peaked from learning of this 16 year time gap, and I felt eager to shed some mystery about this cloistered brotherhood, and witness what this filmmaker captured.

As I watched the film, I was completely drawn into and fascinated by their silent lifestyle and world.  No musical score accompanied the scenes of the monks living their daily lives of prayer, worship, and work on the grounds, other than the songs the monks sang themselves in their corporate times of worship.  Within the first 20 minutes or so of watching, a feeling of judgment crept into my awareness.  The thought that formulated from this judgment articulated itself, “What a waste.”  As quickly as that thought formed, a gentler voice and response murmured, “No, it is not a waste.”

These men dedicate their whole lives to prayer and worship in solitude and silence.  I watched with wonder and growing admiration, the beauty that was illustrated of their vocation, so markedly countercultural from the world I live in — my noisy, all-too-loud urban world, where the more you do and the faster you do it, the better.  On top of that frenetic, active way of urban life in Los Angeles, the additional layer that is the pervasive and acceptable attitude is that it is encouraged to make even more noise while engaging in this manic activity.  Everything we see, do, eat, the places we go, who we’re with are all documented on social media.  We make cyber noise with everything we engage in and do.  Do we need all of this attention?  Imagine what it would be like to live the life of a Carthusian monk, one that is marked in relative obscurity, silence, and solitude.  What feelings, thoughts, and responses rise to your attention as you imagine the prospect of living in anonymity or obscurity?

Jesus lived in relative obscurity for the first 30 years of his life.  Scripture does not say much about what he did, or what his life was like with the exceptions the circumstances prefacing the announcement of his birth and the event surrounding it, and a footnote at his coming of age as a teenager.  There was no narrative about his day to day life growing up, becoming a man, his family life, or his education, only silence until his debut into public ministry as a grown adult.  Four gospel books were then written documenting the three years of his life of public ministry.  Only three years.  Thirty three is considered far too young of an age to die.  We would all agree on that.

Why didn’t Jesus come into the public eye earlier, like in his 20’s when he was younger and maybe more energetic and his work could be more prolific?  Why did he only have three years of making noise and shaking things up in the world?  Maybe he could have done so much more.  This may sound like the familiar rumblings of the people closest to him like his family, followers, disciples, and friends.  Perhaps they would have reacted with the same response of, “What a waste.”

What comes to question and scrutiny here is what is considered a wasteful way to live.  The majority of us will not be called to live hermetic lives as monks, yet there’s a charge to model and explore how to integrate some aspect of that same intentionality and focus into our lives.  They point to the beauty, power, and need to incorporate the practices of solitude, silence, and Sabbath that are grossly countercultural to this noisy, frenetic, compulsive world.  These practices are active, as they cultivate and sharpen focus and purpose in our vocational calling through deep inner work in our souls and spirits.  The substantial life force of that comes from being who you are called to be is desperately needed in our world, and that unfolds and develops from these kinds of contemplative practices.

City dwellers in particular may wonder how it is be possible to emulate these monastic lifestyles in their contexts.  One practical way to start is to set aside regular times of silence, and solitude to create space for reflection and rest.  Instead of charging ahead, making your life happen, taking control of the reigns, the practices of silence, solitude and Sabbath rest shift the paradigm of our fallibility and vulnerability as beings in need.  As space is made to recalibrate ourselves, these practices then help us further to grow in self-awareness and trust in the One who cares, provides for us and has tremendously fulfilling plans for our lives.  Acts of truly powerful and meaningful living come from the intentionality of being through the transformation that comes from contemplative practices.

Jesus spent the majority of his life out of the limelight.  Yet when He was forced into center stage at the appointed time, part of his intensity and power came from all of that time living quietly and ordinarily because He dwelled deeply in knowing who He was, and what He was then called to be and do.  His life was not a waste of time.  There is an invitation for all of us to live counterculturally as He did, shifting how we spend our time, energy, and focus, shaping our character and repositioning our priorities so that truly effective and transformative power can flow out of each us in the unique ways that we are called to be to channel God’s love in the world.

Sharon Lee Song lives and works in South Los Angeles for Servant Partners, an urban missions organization.  Inspired by her own transformation through self-care and soul care, Sharon became a certified personal trainer, Holy Yoga instructor, and spiritual director.  She’s committed to using what she’s learned from her training to support others in living healthy, sustainable, urban spiritual lives.