Daily Meditation: Bringing the Spirit Through Leaving

Friday March 14, 2014 Bringing the Spirit Through Leaving It is often in our absence that the Spirit of God manifests itself.  When Jesus left his disciples he said:  "It is for your own good that I am going, because unless I go, the Paraclete [the Spirit] will not come to you.  However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth"  (John 16: 7;13).  It was only in Jesus' absence that his friends discovered the full meaning of his presence.  It was only in his absence that they completely understood his words and experienced full communion with him; and it was only in his absence that they could gather in a community of faith, hope, and love. When we claim for ourselves that we come to our friends in the Name of Jesus - that through us Jesus becomes present to them - we can trust that our leaving will also bring them the Spirit of Jesus.  Thus, not only our presence but also our absence becomes a gift to others.   We are now sending Weekly Lenten e-reflections. If you'd like to receive these weekly emails, click the "Update Profile/Email Address" link at the bottom of this email or click here and enter your email address. You can also join our Lenten book discussion. Please click here for information. "The Spirit and Practice of Excellence" call-in seminar is happening on March 20th. For more information and to register, please click here. Comment on this Daily Meditation.   Visit our website for inspiration, resources, news, events, community. Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Photo by V. Dobson.

Forward this Daily Meditation to a friend! This email was sent to cbgamb@gmail.com, by email_lists@henrinouwen.org Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Henri Nouwen Society | PO Box 220522 | St. Louis | MO | 63122 | USA Henri Nouwen Society | John M. Kelly Library, 3rd Fl. | 113 St. Joseph Street | Toronto | ON | M5S 1J4 | Canada