fellowship of the broken...
I stumbled on these thoughts by Henri Nouwen today. They are beautiful... I'm going to wrap my life around this...
"Our tendency is to run away from the painful realities or to try to change them as soon as possible. But cure without care makes us into rulers, controllers, manipulators, and prevents a real community from taking shape. Cure without care makes us preoccupied with quick changes, impatient and unwilling to share each other’s burden...
...Every human being has a great, yet often unknown, gift to care, to be compassionate, to become present to the other, to listen, to hear and to receive. If that gift would be set free and made available, miracles could take place. Those who really care can receive bread from a stranger and smile in gratitude, can feed many without even realizing it. Those who can sit in silence with their fellowman not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life in a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears in grief, and to let a sigh of distress arise straight from the heart, can break through paralyzing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken. . . .
To care means first of all to empty our own cup and to allow the other to come close to us. It means to take away the many barriers which prevent us from entering into communion with the other. When we dare to care, then we discover that nothing human is foreign to us...
By the honest recognition and confession of our human sameness we can participate in the care of God who came, not to the powerful but powerless, not to be different but the same, not to take our pain away but to share it.
Through this participation we can open our hearts to each other and form a new community."
"Our tendency is to run away from the painful realities or to try to change them as soon as possible. But cure without care makes us into rulers, controllers, manipulators, and prevents a real community from taking shape. Cure without care makes us preoccupied with quick changes, impatient and unwilling to share each other’s burden...
...Every human being has a great, yet often unknown, gift to care, to be compassionate, to become present to the other, to listen, to hear and to receive. If that gift would be set free and made available, miracles could take place. Those who really care can receive bread from a stranger and smile in gratitude, can feed many without even realizing it. Those who can sit in silence with their fellowman not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life in a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears in grief, and to let a sigh of distress arise straight from the heart, can break through paralyzing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken. . . .
To care means first of all to empty our own cup and to allow the other to come close to us. It means to take away the many barriers which prevent us from entering into communion with the other. When we dare to care, then we discover that nothing human is foreign to us...
By the honest recognition and confession of our human sameness we can participate in the care of God who came, not to the powerful but powerless, not to be different but the same, not to take our pain away but to share it.
Through this participation we can open our hearts to each other and form a new community."
posted by cindi at 6:58 PM
4 Comments:
What book are these quotes from? I read a little about Henri Nouwen in Philip Yancey's book "Soul Survivor" where one chapter profiled Nouwen and his impact on Yancey's life. I've wanted to read something by him since then. These quotes inspire me again to find one of his books.
Michelle - these are excerpted from "Out of Solitude."... oh, and I absolutely loved "Soul Survivor"... I just read it a couple months ago. Don't you feel like you know those people know... Nouwen, Buechner, Donne, Gandhi, and especially Paul Brand... their words, and their lives have changed mine.
Cindi, Thanks for checking in on my caringbridge site. It was so good to hear from you. Then I followed your links and came to your site. I can't wait to read more of it. I feel just as if I were in your kitchen again - I'm sure you've been through so much since the last time I was really there with you and that there are layers and layers of faith added, but at it's core your heart sounds just as it did then. That beautiful, loving, seeking heart. I'm so glad you found me!
Beautiful Serenity... thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. Your words made me weep... as well as showed me how much our friendships transcend space and time, when they have been forged by the Spirit. Life can weather us all it wants, but it can't change the fact that our spirits, as well as our love, are eternal. Kiss those beautiful boys of yours for me.... and enjoy every second... it goes way to fast.
Post a Comment
<< Home