Daily Meditation: Focusing on the Poor

Focusing on the Poor - from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey Like every human organization the Church is constantly in danger of corruption.  As soon as power and wealth come to the Church, manipulation, exploitation, misuse of influence, and outright corruption are not far away. How do we prevent corruption in the Church? The answer is clear:  by focusing on the poor.  The poor make the Church faithful to its vocation.  When the Church is no longer a church for the poor, it loses its spiritual identity.  It gets caught up in disagreements, jealousy, power games, and pettiness.  Paul says,  "God has composed the body so that greater dignity is given to the parts which were without it, and so that there may not be disagreements inside the body but each part may be equally concerned for all the others" (1 Corinthians 12:24-25).  This is the true vision.  The poor are given to the Church so that the Church as the body of Christ can be and remain a place of mutual concern, love, and peace. For further reflection... "Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?" - James 2: 5 (NIV) Comment on this Daily Meditation. The upcoming Advent Book Discussion - The Inner Voice of Love. To find out more, click here! The First Annual Henri Nouwen Lecture featuring Jim Wallis happens November 14, 2015. For more information, click here.   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. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.

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Daily Meditation: The Weakest in the Center

The Weakest in the Center - from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey The most honored parts of the body are not the head or the hands, which lead and control.  The most important parts are the least presentable parts. That's the mystery of the Church.  As a people called out of oppression to freedom, we must recognize that it is the weakest among us - the elderly, the small children, the handicapped, the mentally ill, the hungry and sick - who form the real center.  Paul says,  "It is the parts of the body which we consider least dignified, that we surround with the greatest dignity"  (1 Corinthians 12:23). The Church as the people of God can truly embody the living Christ among us only when the poor remain its most treasured part.  Care for the poor, therefore, is much more than Christian charity.  It is the essence of being the body of Christ. For further reflection... "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." - Jeremiah 31: 25 (NIV) Comment on this Daily Meditation. The upcoming Advent Book Discussion - The Inner Voice of Love. To find out more, click here! The First Annual Henri Nouwen Lecture featuring Jim Wallis happens November 14, 2015. For more information, click here.   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. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.

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 | 95 St. Joseph Street, Room 214 | Toronto | ON | M5S 2R9 | Canada

Daily Meditation: One Body with Many Parts

One Body with Many Parts - from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey The Church is one body.  Paul writes,  "We were baptised into one body in a single Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13).  But this one body has many parts.  As Paul says, "If they were all the same part, how could it be a body?  As it is, the parts are many but the body is one" (1 Corinthians 12:19).  Not everyone can be everything.  Often we expect one member of the body to fulfill a task that belongs to others.  But the hand cannot be asked to see nor the eye to hear. Together we are Christ's body, each of us with a part to play in the whole (see 1 Corinthians 12:27).  Let's be grateful for our limited but real part in the body. For further reflection... "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts..." - 1 Corinthians 12: 12 (NIV) Comment on this Daily Meditation. The upcoming Advent Book Discussion - The Inner Voice of Love. To find out more, click here! The First Annual Henri Nouwen Lecture featuring Jim Wallis happens November 14, 2015. For more information, click here.   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. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.

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 | 95 St. Joseph Street, Room 214 | Toronto | ON | M5S 2R9 | Canada