Good morning…
We are an essential part of God’s response to the anguish of this world. We are in God, God is in us, and from this place of intimate connection, giving and taking, loving and being loved, we become God’s living presence responding to our hurting world. Henri Nouwen’s morning devotional from yesterday tangibly identifies the first step in our process of transformational change.
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DAILY MEDITATION | JULY 13, 2020 – Creative Reciprocity by Henri Nouwen
We who want to bring about change have first of all to learn to be changed by those whom we want to help. This, of course, is exceptionally difficult for those who are undergoing their first exposure to an area of distress. They see poor houses, hungry people, dirty streets; they hear people cry in pain without medical care, they smell unwashed bodies, and in general are overwhelmed by the misery that is all around them. But none of us will be able to really give if he has not discovered that what he gives is only a small thing compared to what we have received. When Jesus says: “Happy are the poor, the hungry, and the weeping” (Luke 6:21), we have to be able to see that happiness. When Jesus says: “What you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me” (Matthew 25:40), he is addressing to us a direct invitation not only to help but also to discover the beauty of God in those who are to be helped. As long as we see only distasteful poverty, we are not really entitled to give. When, however, we find people who have truly devoted themselves to work in the slums and the ghettos and who feel that their vocation is to be of service there, we find that they have discovered that in the smiles of the children, the hospitality of the people; the expressions they use, the stories they tell, the wisdom they show, the goods they share; there is hidden so much richness and beauty, so much affection and human warmth, that the work they are doing is only a small return for what they have already received.
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Who are the people you feel drawn by God to help? Think about it, whose painful plight tugs are your heart? Are you willing to be changed and helped by the poor in spirit, the hungry at heart, the weeping ones, really willing to changed and helped by those you seek to help?
None of us will be able to really give until we discover that what we give is only a small thing compared to what we receive from creative reciprocity. Creative reciprocity, giving and taking, loving and being loved, has God’s fine fingerprints all over it. As the God in me interacts with the God in you, we are both helped and healed, receiving together the hidden richness of beauty, affection, and human warmth.
When we experience an interactive, ongoing connection with the “least of these,” God multiplies among us and each person mysteriously says, “I received more than I gave.” When we remain peacefully connected to God while connecting with a person in need, we sense, “Time evaporates, differences melt, healing power flows between us.” When we are overwhelmed by the misery of those around us, we surrender ourselves to the God who loves us all, “Lord, please use my heart, my hands, my voice as You respond to our deepest needs.”
Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. They had come both to hear him and to be cured of their ailments. Those disturbed by evil spirits were healed. Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then he spoke:
You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all. God’s kingdom is there for the finding. You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry. Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal. You’re blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning (Luke 6:17-21, MSG).
Being with others as Jesus was with others, we embody God’s Spirit and so much energy surges between us, as God heals and changes all of us, all at once. When we are truly with those who have lost it all, truly with those who are ravenously hungry, truly with those experiencing free flowing tears, we find the hidden treasure of God’s kingdom growing organically among us. When we honestly engage with the downtrodden, in their soulful smiles we see the dawn of morning joy.
Our first step toward change is being changed by personal questions like these:
“Father, whose broken heart breaks mine?”
“Jesus, whose dawning smile makes me smile?”
“Holy Spirit, whose ailments might be cured through our creative reciprocity?”
May our honest answers begin to fan into flame God’s transformational change in our everyday lives.
…Sue…
P.S. For those interested in a Zoom book study enhancing our awareness of what it is like to be a child of color, please consider joining us on Wednesdays at 10:00 am as we discuss Parable of the Brown Girl: Sacred Lives of Girls of Color by Khristi Lauren Adams. Here is a small write up about the book:
“The stories of girls of color are often overlooked, unseen, and ignored rather than valued and heard…Minister and youth advocate, Khristi Lauren Adams introduces readers to the resilience, struggle, and hope held within these stories. ….By sharing encounters she’s had with girls of color that revealed profound cultural and theological truths, Adams magnifies the struggles, dreams, wisdom, and dignity of these voices. Thought provoking and inspirational, Parable of the Brown Girl is a powerful example of how God uses the narratives we most often ignore to teach us the most important lessons in life. ”
We will discuss the first two chapters this Wednesday. Please join in the discussion even if you have not read the section. You can catch up quickly. For Zoom information, reach out to Caroline Smith at fitzco1@comcast.net.
P.S.S. Photo from Unsplash.com.
