Thursday, June 25, 2015

The Henri Nouwen Society of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Meditation for Thursday, 25 June 2015 "Words That Create Community" from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey

The Henri Nouwen Society of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Meditation for Thursday, 25 June 2015 "Words That Create Community" from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey


The word is always a word for others. Words need to be heard. When we give words to what we are living, these words need to be received and responded to. A speaker needs a listener. A writer needs a reader.
When the flesh - the lived human experience - becomes word, community can develop. When we say, "Let me tell you what we saw. Come and listen to what we did. Sit down and let me explain to you what happened to us. Wait until you hear whom we met," we call people together and make our lives into lives for others. The word brings us together and calls us into community. When the flesh becomes word, our bodies become part of a body of people.

For further reflection ...
"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them."[Deuteronomy 4: 9]

Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Photo by V. Dobson. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.
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