Sunday, December 14, 2014

Reflection for Third Sunday of Advent

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May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
Psalm 126:5 

The Peace That is Not of This World 

 
Keep your eyes on the prince of peace, the one who doesn't cling to his divine power; the one who refuses to turn stones into bread, jump from great heights and rule with great power; the one who says, "Blessed are the poor, the gentle, those who mourn, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness" (see Matt. 5:3-11); the one who touches the lame, the crippled, and the blind; the one who speaks words of forgiveness and encouragement; the one who dies alone, rejected and despised. Keep your eyes on him who becomes poor with the poor, weak with the weak, and who is rejected with the rejected. He is the source of all peace.

Where is this peace to be found? The answer is clear. In weakness. First of all, in our own weakness, in those places of our hearts where we feel most broken, most insecure, most in agony, most afraid. Why there? Because there, our familiar ways of controlling our world are being stripped away; there we are called to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right there where we are weakest the peace which is not of this world is hidden.

In Adam's name I say to you, "Claim that peace that remains unknown to so many and make it your own. Because with that peace in your heart you will have new eyes to see and new ears to hear and gradually recognize that same peace in places you would have least expected."

 

Henri's Signature
  

Advent Book Discussion
 

 Join us during Advent as we reflect on Henri Nouwen's A Spirituality of Homecoming and
A Spirituality of Living. Facilitated by Brynn Lawrence and Ray Glennon. You are welcome to participate in any way that is spiritually nourishing for you!

READ  *  REFLECT  *  SHARE 

   

Excerpt from "Adam's Story: The Peace That Is Not Of This World", Henri J.M. Nouwen. © The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust. First published in Weavings, March-April 1988. Also published in Seeds of Hope: A Henri Nouwen Reader, ed. Robert Durback, Doubleday Religion, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted here with permission.  Scripture from New Revised Standard Version BiblePhoto of Henri Nouwen by Frank Hamilton. Used with kind permission. Photo of roses by Sharon Sheehan. All images used with kind permission.

 

 


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