For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62: 1-2
"Distracted from distraction by distraction" wisely sums up the human desire to flee from the pain of daily life. This comes from “Burnt Norton,” a poem in T.S. Eliot's masterwork, Four Quartets. While written in 1936, his words still capture the escapism we feel as a result of mundanity.
Today, we reach for our phones to numb from the bottomless pit called email. We think about the unfinished tasks left at work while speaking with our loved ones around the dinner table. We continue to set goals—a new house, losing five pounds, or a dream vacation—only to be left wanting more.
Eliot’s poetry accents modernity’s drum beat of production and progress. Our endless craving for dopamine hits. Yet our striving is just a hamster wheel. Moving forward, we only find ourselves falling behind.
We’ve tried to fix our attention span. From Ted Talks to New York Times articles, to books, we’re proactive, seeking guidance on how to be focused, present and fully alive in our life and work. But removing distraction and replacing it with another distraction, we have not solved the root of our problem. We long for a sense of real life, where we are fully alive and human, not just optimized for peak performance.
As Christians, on Sundays, we break this rhythm with worship. We pause our progress, turning our attention to God. We look to Jesus, who teaches us what it means to be a real, fully alive human, with right relationships with God, neighbors, and ourselves.
So, before we begin our Sunday gathering, Apostles takes a moment to offer the Hospitality of Silence. This is a moment of transition from the chaos of the week or morning. Also, it is also a kindness to God, acknowledging His steadfast presence in our lives. Silence is a deeply Christian way of combatting the human instinct to numb and escape the mundanity of daily life through distraction.
Becoming comfortable with silence, we can become more like the Psalmist—who knows when all else ceases, and the world goes quiet, God is present. In the silence, we find ourselves before God, present to the reality of our lives. Amidst the noise and chaos of modern distractions, silence is a tool that allows us to become rooted, anchored, and grounded in His steadfast love, care, and presence.
So when we turn back to our daily work, we are more aware of God, who is the heartbeat of creation. We do not need to be, in Eliot’s words, “distracted from distraction by distraction.” Rather, silence allows us to be present to the life God has gifted us to live.
Nicole Kallsen, Curate