In our Advent meditation booklet, “Jesus, Beloved Son,” Henry Nouwen reminds us that we are called to make time to pray not because we feel like praying or because it gives us great insight, but simply because we want to be obedient. We want to listen.
Nouwen traces the word listen to its Latin root, audire. To listen with undivided attention is called ob-audire, which is where the word obedience comes from. The opposite of audire is surdus, which is the Latin word for deaf. The more “deaf” we become, the more ab-surdus we become.
An absurd life is one in which we are no longer listening because our days and nights are filled with the clutter of noise. We become spiritually deaf. Prayer is taking time to sort out the voices that create meaning and value in our lives from the noises that fill our lives with sound but leave us empty.
If you have not yet picked up a copy of this wonderful meditation booklet, please do so the next time you come to church. It will help you discern the difference between the voices and the noise and add richness to your celebration of the season.
Blessings, David Hansen