The Silence of the Men at Christmas

From St. Joseph we never hear a word: before, during or after the infancy narratives. He is quiet, peaceful, docile, receptive and obedient to the messages from heaven. Zechariah, a temple priest, is struck mute for the nine months that Elizabeth carries John the Baptist: a leader and teacher, unable to speak a single word. The Magi quietly follow the star and then disappear into the East: we don't even know what they were, kings, magicians, astronomers, or seekers of some sort? The shepherds, accustomed to silence, listen in awe to the music of the angels. The only masculine noise comes from the envious, infanticidal, pro-choice (that is, his own choice, of course) Herod as he massacres the Holy Innocents. The imagery is stark and lucid: the good men are quiet, the evil one is loud. We see here that virile virtue is rooted in quiet, silence, interior peace and docility. And yet, paradoxically, the masculine, or paternal role, is also one of teaching, of passing on the tradition, of articulating the law and giving discipline. Clearly, masculine instruction that does not emerge from the profundity of silence can only be noise, dissonance and violation. My sister once told me: "You should be more like our father: less talk of the talk, more walk of the talk!" Now there is some ego-deflation for you. She had a point. How often I have prayed during a homily: "Lord! Just let him shut up!" I read about a Pentecostal minister, accustomed to hearing the voice of the Lord, who ascended a pulpit before a huge congregation, prepared to deliver a message, when he heard, from heaven, a clear voice: "Be quiet." He obeyed. He stood before the crowd for close to an hour without saying a word. They sat quietly gazing at him. Suddenly, a sound of weeping broke the silence. Soon, the Church was filled with loud sobs and cries: the sinners were weeping about their sins and the love of Christ. The silence of the preacher provided the peace and clam in which the Holy Spirit could work. Lord! Give us men a Spirit of quiet, of peace, of docility!