Throughout our study of Henri
Nouwen’s Life of the Beloved, we have been learning how to receive the
gift of God naming us “beloved.”
Nouwen uses four words to
describe the movement of the Spirit among us: taken or chosen, blessed, broken,
and given. Tonight, my reflection is focused on this last word: given.
When I introduced these words, I
shared that they echo the words used when we describe the Eucharist. At the Table,
the bread - that is the Body of Christ - is taken, blessed, broken and given. And
in our Christian lives, where we too are a part of the Body of Christ,
we are given.
Nouwen writes about the joy found
in giving our lives and ourselves to others, saying that “our lives find
fulfillment in giving ourselves to others.” (108) And not only fulfillment, but
Nouwen says, “true joy, happiness, and inner peace.” (109)
He emphasizes that he is not
talking about giving from what we have, or even what we can do, but making a
gift of our presence.
When the North Carolina Synod had
our leaders’ convocation last week, the keynote speaker told the story of
having spent a year in Ethiopia where she learned to prioritize relationships
over timetables and schedules. If she encountered a student on her way to
class, they stopped and visited, and if that made her late, that was a cost she
was willing to pay. It sounds foreign to many of us who may have heard as
children, “If you arrive on time, you’re already late.”
But what would happen if we decided to prioritize our relationships ahead of the next task, appointment or meeting? What if we live as if we believe our presence is a gift, and the person in front of us is the recipient?
Nouwen writes, “When I ask
myself, “Who helps me the most?” I must answer, “The one who is willing to
share his or her life with me.” (113)
The second point Nouwen makes is
that not only are our lives gifts, but also our deaths. It’s a
startling claim at first, but he illustrates his point with the example of St.
Francis, whose influence continues more than eight centuries after his death. “His
life goes on bearing new fruit around the world. His spirit keeps descending
upon us.” (121)
Listening to Nouwen and to John’s
gospel, we are reminded that the fruitfulness of our own lives, the harvest of
the fruit we bear, will likely be realized after our deaths.
Could we trust that our gifts are
multiplied when we give them away? (123)
Like Elisha giving twenty loaves of
barley to a crowd of more than one hundred and then gathering the leftovers (2
Kings 4:42-44) or the feeding of the five thousand that we hear in all four
gospels (Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:31–44; Luke 9:12–17; John 6:1–14), God
multiplies and God uses what we offer.
May we respond to the call to
give ourselves for the sake of the world around us, and to give joyfully,
without reluctance or hesitation.
No comments:
Post a Comment