From Others: Abraham Joshua Heschel

I've decided to dedicate the first of the week to silence, which, of course, begs the question: why are you blogging then?

The answer is because I agree with Dietrich Bonhoeffer when he says, "To pray is to be silent and at the same time to cry out, before the God and in the presence of his Word" (Christ the Centre).

I myself will be silent on Monday's, but only in order to make room for to speak. I dedicate Monday for other people's words. I hope you find them to be as fruitful as I have. I hope you find they compel you to pray to the God of whom they refer. I hope you find that same God compelling, if not downright beautiful.

While I may be silent, I welcome you to put your own in the comment box and send them to me.

This weeks collaboration of words are by Abraham Joshua Heschel from his book called The Sabbath.

"... even God is conceived by most of us as a thing .... Indeed, we know what to do with space but do not know what to do about time, except to make it subservient to space. Most of us seem to labor for the sake of things of space. As a result we suffer from a deeply rooted dread of time and stand aghast when compelled to look into its face. Time to us is sarcasm, a slick treacherous monster with a jaw like a furnace incinerating every moment of our lives. Shrinking, therefore, from facing time, we escape for shelter to things of space. The intentions we are unable to carry out we deposit in space; possessions become the symbols of our repressions, jubilees of frustrations. But things of space are not fireproof; they only add fuel to the flames. Is the joy of possession an antidote to the terror of time which grows to be a dread of inevitable death? Things, when magnified, are forgeries of happiness, they are a threat of our very lives; we are more harassed than supported by the Frankensteins of spatial things .... The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments. In a religious experience, for example, it is not a thing that imposes itself on man but a spiritual presence .... We must not forget that it is not a thing that lends a significance to a moment; it is the moment that lends significance to things."

Also, another good thing to do on Monday is to check out my friend Tim's weekly confessional. You may even want to make one of your own.