Contemplation #145
From Brokenness to Community by Jean Vanier, p. 30-31, the book from which one passage was read on Sunday.
Community is a place of conflict: conflict inside each one of us. There is first of all the conflict between the values of the world and the values of the community, between togetherness and independence. It is painful to lose one’s independence, and to come into togetherness—not just proximity—to make decisions together and not all alone. Loss of independence is painful, particularly in a world where we have been told to be independent and to cultivate the feeling that “I don’t need anyone else.”
Contemplation #146
From Brokenness to Community by Jean Vanier, p. 48, the book from which one passage was read on Sunday.
There is only the possibility of real growth in a community if people are deeply respected in their personal development. We continually need to have before us the challenge of our mission. We are not in a community just to protect ourselves. We are not even there just to protect our own little spiritual lives. We’re there for the church, for people in pain. We have a message to give, and we have a message to receive. We have a mission, and if we are not a people of mission, then the community is in danger of closing up, and of dying.
Contemplation #147
From Brokenness to Community by Jean Vanier, p. 50-51, the book from which one passage was read on Sunday.
To have a mission means to give life, to heal, and to liberate. It is to permit people to grow to freedom. When Jesus sends people off, he sends them to liberate and to heal others. That is the good news. And we can become people of liberation and of healing because we ourselves are walking along that road toward inner healing and inner liberation. Jesus calls his disciples to bear much fruit. “If you bear much fruit, you shall be my disciples, and bring glory to the Father.” To bear much fruit is to bring life to people. Not to judge, not to condemn, but to forgive. Remember those last words of Christ: “Father, forgive.” Essentially, a community is based on forgiveness and signs of forgiveness. It is not a group of people condemning or judging outsiders.
From Brokenness to Community by Jean Vanier, p. 30-31, the book from which one passage was read on Sunday.
Community is a place of conflict: conflict inside each one of us. There is first of all the conflict between the values of the world and the values of the community, between togetherness and independence. It is painful to lose one’s independence, and to come into togetherness—not just proximity—to make decisions together and not all alone. Loss of independence is painful, particularly in a world where we have been told to be independent and to cultivate the feeling that “I don’t need anyone else.”
Contemplation #146
From Brokenness to Community by Jean Vanier, p. 48, the book from which one passage was read on Sunday.
There is only the possibility of real growth in a community if people are deeply respected in their personal development. We continually need to have before us the challenge of our mission. We are not in a community just to protect ourselves. We are not even there just to protect our own little spiritual lives. We’re there for the church, for people in pain. We have a message to give, and we have a message to receive. We have a mission, and if we are not a people of mission, then the community is in danger of closing up, and of dying.
Contemplation #147
From Brokenness to Community by Jean Vanier, p. 50-51, the book from which one passage was read on Sunday.
To have a mission means to give life, to heal, and to liberate. It is to permit people to grow to freedom. When Jesus sends people off, he sends them to liberate and to heal others. That is the good news. And we can become people of liberation and of healing because we ourselves are walking along that road toward inner healing and inner liberation. Jesus calls his disciples to bear much fruit. “If you bear much fruit, you shall be my disciples, and bring glory to the Father.” To bear much fruit is to bring life to people. Not to judge, not to condemn, but to forgive. Remember those last words of Christ: “Father, forgive.” Essentially, a community is based on forgiveness and signs of forgiveness. It is not a group of people condemning or judging outsiders.
posted by Greg at 7:03 AM
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