Henri Nouwen - What Is Most Personal Is Most Universal

We like to make a distinction between our private and public lives and say, "Whatever I do in my private life is nobody else's business." But anyone trying to live a spiritual life will soon discover that the most personal is the most universal, the most hidden is the most public, and the most solitary is the most communal. What we live in the most intimate places of our beings is not just for us but for all people. That is why our inner lives are lives for others.

That is why our solitude is a gift to our community, and that is why our most secret thoughts affect our common life.

Jesus says, "No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house" (Matthew 5:14-15). The most inner light is a light for the world. Let's not have "double lives"; let us allow what we live in private to be known in public.

A monastic revolution

Krista Tippet gesels met Shane Claiborne oor die laaste paar jaar van sy lewe. Check dit uit: http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2010/monastic-revolution/

Shane se storie laat my worstel met my eie: Hoe lyk 'n new-monasticism in Suid-Afrika? Hoe lyk dit vir 'n pa met 2kinders en met 'n vrou wat 'n lewe in suburbia verwag het toe sy die dag 'ja' gesê het?

Ek glo eerlik nie dat die weg van die New Monasticism net op Shane se manier hoef te gebeur nie en ek dink hy sal saamstem. Tog is daar 'n paar grondbeginsels van die New Monasticism wat organies moet deel wees van enige poging tot so alternative community. My worstel dus: hoe lyk die alternative community vir 'n gesin soos ons s'n? Waar begin 'n mens die reis? Vir eers praat ons nog...soek ons nog...is ons oop vir ander stemme...

Fearless humanity

Jesus taught fearlessness. Thus, to follow Jesus means to live a faith that takes us beyond our anxieties, beyond our deepest fears and troubles to a place of perfect trust. To follow the Prince of Peace is to commit to the ethics of Jesus. The ethics of Jesus is an ethic that requires us to live love. This love is a “caritas,” a wide-open affection that produces human kindness. It is a nonjudgmental friendliness. It is a spirit of generosity. - Valerie Dixon, Sojourners