Daily Meditation for Monday, 12 June 2017 : "Empowered to Receive Love" The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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DAILY MEDITATION: "Empowered to Receive Love"
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Photo courtesy of V. Dobson
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The Spirit reveals to us not only that God is "Abba, Father" but also that we belong to God as his beloved children. The Spirit thus restores in us the relationship from which all other relationships derive their meaning.
Abba is a very intimate word. The best translation for it is: "Daddy." The word Abba expresses trust, safety, confidence, belonging, and most of all intimacy. It does not have the connotation of authority, power, and control, that the word Father often evokes. On the contrary, Abba implies an embracing and nurturing love. This love includes and infinitely transcends all the love that comes to us from our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, spouses, and lovers. It is the gift of the Spirit.
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For further reflection...
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come... I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." [John 17: 1, 26 (NIV)]
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Your response...
"The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is His greatest single act of unwavering trust in His Abba's love." [Brennan Manning]
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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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