Day Three - Early Morning Silence
As an adult I have always been an early riser. It is a rare occasion for me to lie in. This has been a source of frustration over the years. Since becoming a parish priest, waking early is something I have received as a gift. The space before the world wakes is largely silent and dark - filled with the Other. It is numinous. A thin place. It is time when I often hear God most clearly and sense God's presence. Over many years, the early hours of Sunday morning have been the time that I tend to write sermons. I read scripture on the previous Monday and note I take from commentaries and then I allow it to 'sit' until the latter part of the week when I may look at it all again; but Sunday's are writing time. Some of you will react in horror that I might leave it all that late. I am self-awareness enough to know that I work best to a deadline and a few hours to write up my thinking certainly galvanises things! But... I am also self-aware enough to k...