Ubi Caritas: Nouwen Meditation: God is a Compassionate God

Saturday, January 7, 2023

Nouwen Meditation: God is a Compassionate God

Now & Then Podcast

In this week's episode of Henri Nouwen, Now & Then, we feature a lively discussion between Henri Nouwen and an audience of Christian leaders first recorded in 1983. Henri wrestles with challenging questions about what it means to be peacemakers in a world threatened by war and the use of nuclear weapons. Surprisingly timely and disarmingly intimate -- part three is a great listen!

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DAILY MEDITATION | JANUARY 7, 2023

God is a Compassionate God

The truly good news is that God is not a distant God, a God to be feared and avoided, a God of revenge, but a God who is moved by our pains and participates in the fullness of the human struggle. . . . God is a compassionate God. This means, first of all, that God is a God who has chosen to be God-with-us. . . . As soon as we call God “God-with-us,” we enter into a new relationship of intimacy with him. By calling God Emmanuel, we recognize God’s commitment to live in solidarity with us, to share our joys and pains, to defend and protect us, and to suffer all of life with us. The God-with-us is a close God, a God whom we call our refuge, our stronghold, our wisdom, and even, more intimately, our helper, our shepherd, our love. We will never really know God as a compassionate God if we do not understand with our heart and mind that “the Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14).

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

JOHN 1:47,48 (NIV)

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