Thursday, February 7, 2013

Daily Meditation: Dressed in Gentleness

Henri Nouwen Society - Daily Meditation

Thursday February 7, 2013 

 

Dressed in Gentleness

 

Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.

 

Gentle is the one who does "not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick" (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let's dress ourselves with gentleness. In our tough and often unbending world our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us.

 

- Henri J. M. Nouwen  

Comment on this Daily Meditation.

Read and reflect this Lent on The Return of the Prodigal Son. Join us anytime, starting February 13th. Click here for details.
 
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!

Safe Unsubscribe
This email was sent to cbgamb@gmail.com, by email_lists@henrinouwen.org
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

No comments:

Post a Comment