With Less Art

Learning to speak softly and therefore more spiritually

07/29/2017

Luke 10:38-42 Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

           One of my favorite phrases is “speak softly and carry a big stick.” That was originally said by President Theodore Roosevelt to describe his foreign policy: good diplomacy (soft speech) should be backed up by a strong military (a big stick). But I like it because often those who speak softly are more effective in communicating than those whose words are loud and proud. A good example is Dc. Stephen Elser. His homilies are spoken softly and simply, but they are no less spiritual or supernatural and also very insightful. I’ve told him not to change his style because that’s more appealing to many people than my propensity to pound the pulpit.

           One of the most enduring figures of Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” is Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. She, too, preferred to speak softly, and she wished that others would too. At one point she is listening to Polonius (one of the king’s counselors), who drones on and on – like some Sunday sermons – and she says succinctly, “More matter, with less art” (Hamlet, II, 2), meaning “get to the point.” Later, she watches a play where an actress is overly effusive and she says famously, “The lady dost protest too much, methinks” (Hamlet, III, 2) Sometimes speaking softly means you don’t need the big stick because you make your point more pointedly.

            The Scriptures offer us two examples of ill-spoken words; indeed, the people would have done better to speak softly, or not speak at all. In Exodus 24, Moses presents the people with the “book of the covenant,” and they boldly respond in unison: “All that the Lord has said, we will heed and do.” But just eight chapters later, they are bowing down worshiping the golden calf in Exodus 32. Their own words condemned them. In the gospel Martha complains about Mary’s inactivity and asks Jesus to correct her. But our Lord corrects Martha instead: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part.” Jesus could have said about Martha: “The lady dost protest too much, methinks.” In other words, sometimes it’s better not to be busy and bluster, but to speak softly or even to be silent. In the spiritual life, far more is gained through silence than by speaking. That is the ultimate meaning of the phrase, “More matter, with less art.”

            My friends, we are all guilty of talking too much, or of saying things we don’t mean or even saying things we later regret. We need to learn to speak softly. I love to celebrate 50th wedding anniversaries and hear couples renew their vows.  Often their voices are hushed and humble because they know exactly how hard it is to live those vows, and maybe even how many times they’ve stumbled. How different their words sound than on the day of their wedding! They’ve learned the meaning of “more matter, with less art.” Priests repeat our ordination promises each year at the Chrism Mass. The weight of those words grows heavier each year, and the older the priest, the softer he seems to speak them. Priests slowly learn that discipleship demands “more matter, with less art.” More Christ-like love and less lip-service. Often grandparents speak softly instead of raising their voices – unless their hearing aid doesn’t work – because they’re aware how over the course of their long life they’ve said things rashly – like the Israelites and Martha – and it’s usually better to speak softly instead of eat your words later. Life is lived better when you have “more matter, with less art.”

When the prophet Elijah wanted to see God in the Old Testament, he experienced a violent wind, a tremendous earthquake, and a blazing fire, but God was not in any of those phenomena. Finally, Elijah heard “a still, silent sound” (1 Kings 19:12), and he hid his face.  Why? The prophet had finally found God. It seems God, too, prefers “more matter, with less art.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!