greetings!
our trip over the weekend to see bill hobbs [and visit urban youth impact] was awesome -- i am so pumped about possibilities...
nancy and i also had a great time "on the road" with patty and leah [and it was great to hang out with bill and glenn and jeremy and elizabeth] -- we are so blessed to have such awesome friends!
preaching at ft pierce was so much fun today -- i have really missed the church...
it was a great sermon [if i must say so myself -- ha! ha!]...
i will be preaching there again for easter sunday and once per month after that...
now to nouwen...
i love the following comments related to henri's understanding that human beings dearly love "signs": "the only authentic sign is not some sensational miracle but the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. the great sign, which can be understood only by those who are willing to follow Jesus, is the sign of jonah, who also wanted to run away from reality but was summoned back by God to fulfill his arduous task to the end. to look suffering and death straight in the face and to go through them oneself in the hope of a new God-given life: that is the sign of Jesus and of every human being who wishes to lead a spiritual life in imitation of him. it is the sign of the cross: the sign of suffering and death, but also of the hope for total renewal...the core message of Jesus is that real joy and peace can never be reached while bypassing suffering and death, but only by going right through them...Jesus lived his life with the trust that God's love is stronger than death and that death therefore does not have the last word. he invites us to face the painful reality of our existence with the same trust..."
hope you are enjoying our lenten journey...
only one week to palm sunday...
only two weeks to easter...
let's make the most of the journey TOGETHER!
shalom...
guy
have a great week...
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Nouwen's message does direct. When growing up, adolescence was considered the most challenging stage in development,but now that I am much closer to the end, I'm beginning to suspect the ending of our physical life is the most challenging: Is there life after death? Is all there is to this life actually physical existence? If there is life after physical life, then what will that life be like? And that's where trust in God is essential--the kind of trust Nouwen indicated.
ReplyDeleteThank you for blogging during Lent. The writings have been inspirational.
THANK YOU for reading! I am so weary tonight... Hope to see you soon...
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