Hi I’m Fletcher, a friend of Jeff Beard and a member of his church. I’m a reader, lover of Church history, and the Bible. I also have friends from a variety of Christian traditions and believe that even though we are different, our differences are an opportunity to learn and understand. My hope is that this look at Henri Nouwen’s book will give you something new to think about that might scratch a spiritual itch and that God might be pleased to use to draw you closer to himself. Soli Deo glori
In Making All Things New, Henri Nouwen calls us to consider the spiritual life from a different perspective. He shares the conviction with St. Ignatius of Loyola that God is always speaking; thus it is our job to learn to listen.
The obstacle to the spiritual life
The problem is that we live in an age of constant activity and stimulation. We are occupied with so many things; we are busy. When we are not occupied with our activities, we are preoccupied with concerns about what might happen; thus our minds are as full or fuller than our lives. This fullness leaves little room for the spiritual life: it leaves little room for us to listen for and hear God’s voice.
Nouwen says that the results of this occupation and preoccupation is boredom, resentment, and depression.
- Boredom comes from doubting the value of the things we do. We feel that they don’t matter to anyone else.
- Resentment comes from feeling used by others.
- Depression comes from feeling “guilty” about living. We begin to feel bad about our lives and doubt their value.
The call of Jesus
Jesus calls us to a life where God’s loving Spirit is at the center and is active. This is the call to “seek first His Kingdom”. Nouwen understands this kingdom as entering into the love relationship that exists between the Father and the Son. This is what Jesus prays would happen for us in John 17. We enter into this relationship by having the Holy Spirit in our lives communicating this love to us.
Because God’s Spirit is at the center, our life is no longer fragmented by all these occupations and preoccupations. These things are now organized around loving and being loved by God and walking in obedience to the Father just like Jesus did. Not obedience from fear of punishment, but from love.
In Greek (and English), the idea of obeying is closely related to listening. So for Nouwen seeking God’s kingdom means listening to His voice and communing with Him. We will then live out our listening by doing what He says out of love, not fear.
Ultimately we need God’s grace to bring us to this place where we enter into this loving relationship between the Father and the Son and can hear God speaking to us. That said, the church has recognized ways that can help us get into the soil so that we can grow. Nouwen offers two.
Two ways to commune with God: solitude and community
Nouwen defines a spiritual discipline as “the concentrated effort to create some inner and outer space in our lives where this obedience can happen” (p. 68). The obedience he refers to is “obediently standing in the presence of God” listening (pg. 67-68).
Solitude
The first discipline we need is solitude. By solitude, Nouwen means solitude – time and space away from other people, books, phones, TV, and things to think about. We need time and space to do nothing but listen to God’s “still small voice”. He notes that we may do this in many places and in many ways, but that simplicity and regularity should be our guides.
If you have ever tried to quiet your mind and just listen, you will recognize that that our occupations and preoccupations pop into our minds and crowd in on our attempts to listen. Rather than directly fighting them, Nouwen suggests that we use the words of Scripture (a Psalm, Gospel, Epistle, etc.) or some short prayer (The Jesus Prayer, etc.) to gently redirect our thoughts back to listening to God. Nouwen doesn’t mean reading a whole chapter or a long prayer. A sentence or two should suffice. The goals is seeking silence and solitude to hear God speak.
Like me, you may wonder if the Evil One might speak into this silence. This silence-seeking smacks of Eastern Meditation, does it not?
St. Paul says that “no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” (I Cor 12:3, ESV). St. John says “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” (I John 4:2-3, ESV). So we have a simple test. As we listen for God, if what we hear denies Jesus or leads us from Him, then that wasn’t God. If it leads us to Him or to the things He loves, then that is God.
By community Nouwen means a community of people who are full of the Spirit and are listening for God. As we learn to listen in our own solitude, we will recognize God’s Spirit in each other. We can also be silent together and listen for God together.
As an aside, St. Ignatius said that community was important for discerning the will of God. When we feel that God is speaking to us, we should seek the wisdom of our Spirit-filled brothers and sisters in Christ and see if God has communicated anything to them about this. Other Christians can point us to Scripture that can offer insight and confirm or deny our feeling that God has spoken to us for God will never contradict what He has revealed in Scripture when we listen to Him in prayer.
Closing thoughts
Regardless of whether you accept Nouwen’s recommendations about what practices will best help you seek God, I hope that you will recognize the effects of busyness and the lack of mental space and solitude on your spiritual life. May you begin to create the space you need to commune with God.
May we begin to create the space and time we need to hear God and connect with Him. May we live from Him as our center rather than the “many things” that occupy and preoccupy us. May we create space to be with each other and hear God’s Spirit together and in each other. Amen.