Daily Meditation for Saturday, 6 May 2017: "The Temptation to Hoard" from The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Daily Meditation for Saturday, 6 May 2017: "The Temptation to Hoard" from The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada


DAILY MEDITATION "The Temptation to Hoard" for Saturday, 6 May 2017

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As fearful people we are inclined to develop a mind-set that makes us say: "There's not enough food for everyone, so I better be sure I save enough for myself in case of emergency," or "There's not enough knowledge for everyone to enjoy; so I'd better keep my knowledge to myself, so no one else will use it" or "There's not enough love to give to everybody, so I'd better keep my friends for myself to prevent others from taking them away from me." This is a scarcity mentality. It involves hoarding whatever we have, fearful that we won't have enough to survive. The tragedy, however, is that what you cling to ends up rotting in your hands.

For further reflection...
"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits them no sleep. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when there are children there is nothing left for them. Naked they come from their mother's womb, and as they come, they depart; they take nothing from their labor that they can carry in their hands."[Ecclesiastes 5: 10-15 (NIV)]
Your response...
How can you move from the house of fear to the house of love today?

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Daily Meditation for Friday, 5 May 2017: "God's Generosity" from The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada


DAILY MEDITATION "God's Generosity" for Friday, 5 May 2017

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God is a god of abundance, not a god of scarcity. Jesus reveals to us God's abundance when he offers so much bread to the people that there are twelve large baskets with leftover scraps (see John 6:5-15), and when he makes his disciples catch so many fish that their boat nearly sinks (Luke 5:1-7). God doesn't give us just enough. God gives us more than enough: more bread and fish than we can eat, more love than we dared to ask for.
God is a generous giver, but we can only see and enjoy God's generosity when we love God with all of our hearts, minds, and strength. As long as we say, "I will love you, God, but first show me your generosity," we will remain distant from God and unable to experience what God truly wants to give us, which is life and life in abundance.

For further reflection...
"You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy."[Psalm 65: 9-13 (NRSV)]
Your response...
Do you think of God as stingy or generous?

Continue the Inspiration
Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "A Spirituality of Fundraising".
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Daily Meditation for Thursday, 4 May 2017: "Signposts on the Way to God" from The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada


DAILY MEDITATION "Signposts on the Way to God" for Thursday, 4 May 2017

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How do we know about God's love, God's generosity, God's kindness, God's forgiveness? Through our parents, our friends, our teachers, our pastors, our spouses, our children ... they all reveal God to us. But as we come to know them, we realise that each of them can reveal only a little bit of God. God's love is greater than theirs; God's goodness is greater than theirs; God's beauty is greater than theirs.
At first we may be disappointed in these people in our lives. For a while we thought that they would be able to give us all the love, goodness, and beauty we needed. But gradually we discover that they were all signposts on the way to God.

For further reflection...
Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand."[John 13: 7 (NRSV)]
Your response...
How do the limits of others' love for you point you to God's deeper love?

Continue the Inspiration
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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. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.
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