C-19 Reflection #44: 1) The True Order of Jesus Work

C-19 Daily Reflection (44)

Introduction:

Over the next four days, I want to share with you the 4 parts of an article by the spiritual writer, Henri Nouwen (*.we have used several of NH insights in this series of daily reflections already). We will send one section a day of this classic article, which Henri wrote many years ago, for your reading and reflection. In this article, Nouwen reflects on a story in Luke 6:12-19 and articulates a way for us to see ourselves in this story as Christ followers. 

Many of us are in need of a way to find a rhythm or flow for our lives, something to give us an overall guiding framework, instead of experiencing life as a mish mash of daily commitments and activities, where things don’t seem to fit or flow together. What we get here is a way to connect the two key, but different, poles of worship and mission, prayer and practice, contemplation and action, 

One of the unique contributions of this article is how it links our need for an overall structure or rhythm with the flow of Jesus’ life and ministry, so that our way of life becomes more specifically shaped by Jesus himself. In this article, Nouwen attempts to show how Jesus’ life and our spiritual lives flow through the 3 key connected movements of solitude, community and ministry. 

Theme: FROM SOLITUDE TO COMMUNITY TO MINISTRY: The True Order of Jesus Work

Introduction:

The word discipleship and the word discipline are the same word, which has always fascinated me. Once you have made the choice to say, "Yes, I want to follow Jesus," the question is, "What disciplines will help me remain faithful to that choice?" If we want to be disciples of Jesus, we have to live a disciplined life.

By discipline, I do not mean control. If I know the discipline of psychology or of economics, I have a certain control over a body of knowledge. If I discipline my children, I want to have a little control over them.

But in the spiritual life, the word discipline means "the effort to create some space in which God can act." Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you're not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn't planned or counted on.

I think three disciplines are important for us to remain faithful, so we not only become disciples, but also remain disciples. These disciplines are contained in one passage from Scripture with which we're familiar, but one that we may be surprised to find speaks about discipline.

"Now it happened in those days that Jesus went onto the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came, he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them and called them apostles: Simon, whom he called Peter; and his brother, Andrew; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, son of Alphaeus; Simon, called the Zealot; Judas, son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples. There was a great crowd of people from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and be cured of their diseases. And people tormented by unclean spirits were also cured. Everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all" (Luke 6:12-19).

This is a beautiful story that moves from night to morning to afternoon. Jesus spent the night in solitude with God. In the morning, he gathered his apostles around him and formed community. In the afternoon, with his apostles, he went out and preached the Word and healed the sick.

Notice the order: from solitude to community to ministry. The night is for solitude; the morning for community; the afternoon for ministry. So often in ministry, I have wanted to do it by myself. If it didn't work, I went to others and said, "Please!" searching for a community to help me. If that didn't work, maybe I'd start praying.

But the order that Jesus teaches us is the reverse. It begins by being with God in solitude; then it creates a fellowship, a community with whom the mission is being lived; and finally this community goes out together to heal and to proclaim good news.

I believe you can look at solitude, community, and ministry as three disciplines by which we create space for God. If we create space in which God can act and speak, something surprising will happen. You and I are called to these disciplines if we want to be disciples.