Community is first and foremost a gift of the Holy Spirit, not built upon mutual compatibility, shared affection of common interests, but upon having received the same divine breath, having been given a heart set aflame by the same divine fire and having been embraced by the same divine love. It is the God-within who brings us into communion with each other and makes us one. This message both confronts and consoles us. It confronts us with our inability to heal our own brokenness with self-made solutions, and it consoles us with the revelation that God indeed does want to create among us the unity we most long for.
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I love the powerful simplicity of Nouwen's writing. Each word seems thoughtfully and deliberately chosen to carry an intense gravity of meaning.
I felt such a weight of responsibility lift as I read this passage. Community is a gift. A gift that is given when we receive the divine breath, passionate fire, and love of the Lord. So often my prayer centers around "Jesus...show me what to DO to foster/grow/maintain/enrich my communities. Help me to understand what is broken so that I know how to fix it." And yet, what Nouwen reminds us here is that community is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit. Not mine, not yours, not our friends', not our pastors'. Our call is to mutually encourage one another, to pray/seek/beg/plead for Him to unify our hearts. As we receive the same divine breath, have our hearts set aflame by the same divine fire, and rest in the embrace of the same divine love, community flourishes by grace.
What would our homes, churches, and friendships look like if we chose to simply receive more of what The Father longs to give us anyways?
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Jesus, I'm so often in your way. I am incapable of healing the brokenness inside me, the brokenness of those alongside me, and the brokenness of the world around me. Would you show us how to do less and receive more?
Breathe your divine breath into our lives,
light your divine fire in our hearts,
embrace us with your divine love...
That we might taste your glory and find the unity we long for.
May your kingdom come here on earth and in our lives as it is in heaven.
1 comment:
Oh, my...have you read my journal this week, Lauren? Lectio Divina (experiencing scripture by meditation on a passage and allowing Holy Spirit to "place you into" the narrative) was my spiritual practice this week from Luke 5:1-11 where Jesus got into Simon's boat and had them lower the nets again. Well, I saw myself rowing Jesus out into the deep water and then casting out the net into the dark water. Pulling it up at His command I was shocked when the net broke the surface; in my prayer image, the net was full of body parts - limbs mostly. I gasped as I hauled it into the boat saying, "Oh, Jesus, I can never repair all of these broken people!" He simply said to me that all I need do is to bring them to Him. Even myself - bring others along with me to Him. He mends! I rest in His embrace for I am not the fixer - He is...
The author of community, the healer of brokenness, the lover of the lonely; our complete reward.
You write so beautifully, Lauren. I am blessed by your insightful musings. I especially love being on the same page with you in this wondrous journey.
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