Say Nothing?

Mark 1:40-45

A leper came to Jesus and, kneeling, he begged him, "If you choose, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

I often wonder about the many times a mentor or guide will advise: Say nothing to anyone. A variation of that phrase is "Be careful about how you talk about this, and to whom."

I've encountered that advice when I've experienced something extraordinary...something beyond measure...and the wisdom has been that the scope and intensity of my experience simply cannot be contained in words.

Some fairly regular situations, for example:

The piercing of my heart when I have watched some movies
The fragrance of spring and autumn
The warming of my soul when I receive Holy Communion
The sheer delight of seeing a fledgling chickadee
The tender "aha" of some spiritual direction sessions
The touch of Christ during prayer

There are encounters which strike something deep within. That initial stimulation reverberates in the soul and....

That is where I must make a choice....

Do I try to speak about the event? Or do I "show" the result of the event in the demeanor and actions that follow? In most of these situations my words would limit the impact of my experience. But my countenance and gestures...the lightness of my heart or the clarity of my vision almost always reach beyond my personal experience and help lead somebody else to an appreciation of God's abundant grace and mercy.

Sometimes the power of the event serves others more as I offer to them the "ripple effect" of the transformation that has occurred within me. Those regular nudges that I experience that move ME into a deeper awareness of God fill me with love and joy....and that love and joy spills outward in a way that proclaims the Lord to others.

The leper was healed...made clean and whole. Jesus knew that the impact of the healing would grow exponentially if the leper said nothing about it.... The new life, the gratitude for it, and the response to it would be the most powerful proclamation.

I hear (again) St. Francis of Assisi: Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.

What about you? Have you experienced something extraordinary? What is your response? Have you heard the giver of the gift telling you: "Say Nothing... Now go, and show!"