Henri Nouwen was one of my favorite writers on spirituality. It was not because he was the most insightful, or brilliant in his understanding. Others were much more so than Nouwen.
It was because Nouwen was at his very best when he "hung the fruit low for all of us to pick." He knew how to make things simple and say them simply.
I came across another example of Nouwen doing this in Sabbath by Muller where he provides this illustration. Nouwen said (paraphrased) . . .
Our lives have become absurd. In Latin surdus means deaf. To be absurd is to be deaf to what we must hear. To be absurd is to be unable to hear or unwilling to listen.
The word obedient comes from the Latin word audiere which means to hear or to listen.
So, in a simple way, the spiritual journey with Christ is moving from deafness to hearing. It is gaining the ability to listen to Jesus. it is the journey from absurdity to obedience.
To say it bluntly. When I don't listen, I am absurd. (Even though they are fake, wouldn't it be nice to be able to have spiritual ears like this?)
How have you been these past few days? Absurd or obedient? Listening to friends, to Scripture, to God, to love . . . or not listening? Absurd/deaf or hearing/obedient.
"Let him who has ears to hear, hear." (Mark 4:9 and five other places as well.)
Brian Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
I wonder if this is what we look like when we don't listen? Kind of absurd looking - isn't it?
