day 14, lent 2009

greetings!

we've got to stop meeting like this -- ha! ha!

i am on call tonight -- so i am trying to think and stare at my hospice phone at the same time...

being a male, i am not sure i can pull off two things at once...

so here goes...

nouwen says: "you are probably wondering how, in imitation of Jesus, you are to find this descending way [humility] of true greatness. that's a very personal and intimate question, and in the end i don't think that anyone can answer it but you. it's not simply a matter of renouncing your money, your possessions, your intellectual formation, or your friends or family. for some people, it has indeed meant this but only because they felt personally called to take that road. each one of us has to seek out his or her own descending way of love. that calls for much prayer, much patience, and much guidance. it has nothing at all to do with spiritual heroics, dramatically throwing everything overboard to 'follow' Jesus. the descending way is a way that is concealed in each person's heart. but because it is so seldom walked on, it's often overgrown with weeds. slowly but surely we have to clear the weeds, open the way, and set out on it unafraid. for me, this weeding out process is always related to prayer, because to pray is to make free time for God, even when you're very busy with important matters of one kind or another. every time you make free time for God, you clear up a bit of the descending path, and you see where you can plant your feet on the way of love."

the call to follow Jesus is a very personal call...

it is a call to greatness through downward mobility [see the ancient hymn about Jesus in philippians 2.5-11] -- totally contrary to the call of our culture to upward mobility...

there are no cookie-cutter followers -- we will all be unique in our walk -- the key is to follow Jesus in our own skin... to compare ourselves to others is not wise [it usually always leads to arrogance or self-denigration]. we are to answer OUR call -- not someone else's call...

we are blessed with mothers, fathers, mentors, models, etc.

but, there is NO place for copying others -- their walk is their walk -- our walk is to be our walk...

so, let us follow Jesus with all our uniqueness [and yet commit to walk together in community with one another]!

blessings!

guy

pray that i do NOT get called out tonight -- i would love to get some sleep...