Friday, April 26, 2013

Daily Meditation: Question from Above

Henri Nouwen Society - Daily Meditation

Friday April 26, 2013 


Question from Above

 

What are spiritual questions?  They are questions from above.  Most questions people ask of Jesus are questions from below, such as the question about which of  a woman's seven husbands she will be married to in the resurrection.   Jesus does not answer this question because it comes from a legalistic mind-set.  It is a question from below.

 

Often Jesus  responds by changing this question.  In the case of the woman with seven husbands he says, "At the resurrection men and women do not marry - have you never read what God himself said to you:  'I am God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?'  He is God not of the dead but of the living" (Matthew 22:23-30).

 

We have to keep looking for the spiritual question if we want spiritual answers.

 

- Henri J. M. Nouwen  

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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.
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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Notice the Glory


Notice the Glory

Abraham Joshua Heschel


To pray is to take notice of the wonder, to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments. Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living. It is all we can offer in return for the mystery by which we live....

Amidst the meditation of mountains, the humility of flowers wiser than all alphabets--clouds that die constantly for the sake of God's glory--we are hating, hunting, hurting. Suddenly we feel ashamed of our clashes and complaints in the face of the tacit glory in nature. 

Source: Quest for God

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Daily Meditation: The Answer to Our Questions

Henri Nouwen Society - Daily Meditation

Thursday April 25, 2013 


The Answer to Our Questions

 

We spend a lot of time and energy raising questions.  Is it worth it?  It is always good to ask ourselves why we raise a question.  Do we want to get useful information?  Do we want to show that someone else is wrong?  Do we want to conquer knowledge?  Do we want to grow in wisdom?  Do we want to find a way to sanctity?

 

When we ponder these questions before asking our questions, we may discover that we need less time and energy for our questions.  Perhaps we already have the information.   Perhaps we don't need to show that someone is wrong.  For many questions we may learn that we already have the answers, at least if we listen carefully to our own hearts. 

 

- Henri J. M. Nouwen  

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New event posting: SAT Summer Sabbatical, June 2013. Click here for details.
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.
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Pause to Wonder


Pause to Wonder

Albert Einstein


The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, his eyes are closed.

Source: What I Believe

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Daily Meditation: Fulfilling a Mission

Henri Nouwen Society - Daily Meditation

Wednesday April 24, 2013 

 

Fulfilling a Mission

 

When we live our lives as missions, we become aware that there is a home from where we are sent and to where we have to return.  We start thinking about ourselves as people who are in a faraway country to bring a message or work on a project, but only for a certain amount of time.  When the message has been delivered and the project is finished, we want to return home to give an account of our mission and to rest from our labours.

 

One of the most important spiritual disciplines is to develop the knowledge that the years of our lives are years "on a mission."

 

- Henri J. M. Nouwen  

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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.
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Daily Meditation: Being Sent Into the World

Henri Nouwen Society - Daily Meditation

Tuesday April 23, 2013 

 

Being Sent Into the World

 

Each of us has a mission in life.  Jesus prays to his Father for his followers, saying:  "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world" (John 17:18).

 

We seldom realise fully that we are sent to fulfill God-given tasks.  We act as if we have to choose how, where, and with whom to live.  We act as if we were simply plopped down in creation and have to decide how to entertain ourselves until we die.   But we were sent into the world by God, just as Jesus was.  Once we start living our lives with that conviction, we will soon know what we were sent to do.

 

- Henri J. M. Nouwen  

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New event posting: SAT Summer Sabbatical, June 2013. Click here for details.
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.
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