July 27th to August 2nd: Drinking the Cup

Reading:  Part Three— Drinking the Cup
I shall take up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (Psalm 116:13)

Henri beautifully captures the shared experience of this extraordinary online community when he writes: “When we are fully committed to the spiritual adventure of drinking  our cup to the bottom, we will soon discover that people who are on the same journey will offer themselves to us for encouragement and friendship and love.  It has been my most blessed experience that God sends wonderful friends…”  Thus far on our journey we have held our cup–and seen our joys hidden in our sorrows in the cup of blessings; and we have lifted our cup–for the community to see and celebrate the cup of life.   This week Henri encourages us to drink the cup of salvation to the bottom and he offers three disciplines to lead us to this spiritual freedom.

Here are three thoughts you may find helpful to begin unpacking the reading.  As always, please feel free to respond to any of the ideas below, to share your reflections on something that touched you,  or to read and reflect silently.  We are blessed by your presence.

1.  Henri writes, “Spiritual greatness has nothing to do with being greater than others… True sanctity is precisely drinking our own cup and trusting that by thus fully claiming our own, irreplaceable journey, we can become a source of hope for many.”  (p. 89)  Sounding a similar theme, Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”  Consider your own journey–the joys and the sorrows–and reflect on those times when you did small things with great love and became a source of hope for those whose lives you touched.

2.  Henri tells us, “Jesus drank the cup of his life… He knew that drinking the cup would bring him freedom, glory, and wholeness” and offer all humanity the promise of salvation and life everlasting.   Consequently, Henri can confidently write, “Drinking the cup of salvation means emptying the cup of sorrow and joy so that God can fill it with pure life.”   This “pure life” is real freedom from our addictions, compulsions, and obsessions, or our self-indulgence.   Henri reminds us that “…this freedom comes to us every time we drink from the cup of life, whether a little or much.”    Look back on your life experiences and examine those times when you chose to drink from the cup of life you were holding at the time and identify and be grateful for the freedom that resulted from your choice.    How did God take the cup that you emptied and fill it with pure life?

3.  At the outset of this crucial chapter, Henri writes: “It is important, however, to be very specific when we deal with the question, ‘How do we drink the cup?’  We need some very concrete disciplines… to find in them our unique way to spiritual freedom…  the discipline of silence, the discipline of the word, and the discipline of action.”   Henri emphasizes that these are the disciplines we should follow to “drink our cup of salvation.” Prayerfully reflect on Henri’s description of each of the three disciplines and assess how well you are are living that discipline today.   For each discipline, identify the areas where you are the most comfortable and self-assured in your practice of that discipline and how that leads you to spiritual freedom.   Then consider the uncertainties, insecurities, or questions you may have in the practice of each discipline.  What concrete, specific steps can you take to make the practice of that discipline a more meaningful part of you life?  You might write those steps down for yourself and place them at the foot of the cross to ask Jesus for assistance.

We are all called to drink the cup.  Henri Nouwen points the way.  We look forward to hearing from you this week.

July 29th Update: Maureen at the Henri Nouwen Society found the photograph of Henri and his close friend Trevor (see Chapter 5) shown below.  Enjoy!

Henri Nouwen and his close friend Trevor.
“When you’re happy and you know it… lift your glass.” 

WithTrevor1987 (1)May the Lord give you the same peace that Henri found with his friends at Daybreak.

Ray

July 20th to July 26th: Lifting the Cup

Reading:  Part Two — Lifting the Cup
We lift the cup of life, to affirm our life together and celebrate it as a gift from God.

The beautiful, poignant, and compassionate sharing among those gathered here has already demonstrated that we are, as Henri writes, willing to “…lift up our cup in a fearless gesture, proclaiming that we will support each other in our common journey…”    In this virtual space we are already creating community.    This week Henri challenges us to grow in our understanding of the nature of community and its importance to the spiritual life using three memorable examples.

1.  According to Henri, “Community is a fellowship of people who do not hide their joys and sorrows but make them visible to each other in a gesture of hope.”  And what does community look like?  He uses the example of “one big mosaic portraying the face of Christ…(where) each little stone is indispensable and makes a unique contribution to the glory of God.”

Mosaic icon of “Christ Pantocrator”  in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Details shown at left) Source: Wikimedia Commons
Mosaic icon of “Christ Pantocrator” in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Details shown at left)
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Henri reminds us, “…when we live our life for others we not only claim our individuality but also proclaim our unique place in the mosaic of the human family.”  Then he asks a probing question:  “Do we have a circle of worthy friends where we feel safe enough to be intimately known and called to an always greater maturity?”   Henri concludes, “We need community, a community in which confession and celebration are always present together.  We have to be willing to let others know us if we want them to celebrate life with us.”

In this section you might review Henri’s words and the mosaic as they may apply to your life experience.    Look at the groups to which you belong, and consider which of them are communities as described here.   Reflect on the times when you have lifted the cup of your life with those communities and the blessings that you have received.   Looking ahead, are you prepared to trust in the love of God and “…willing to let others know us”  so that true community can result?  What steps have you taken or can you take to build community in you life?

2.  Henri illustrates the power of community by telling the wonderful story of lunch with Trevor.   According to Henri, “Trevor’s toast radically changed the mood in the Golden Room…. Trevor did what nobody else could have done.  He transformed a group of strangers into a community of love by his simple, unself-conscious blessing.”
You might want to think about the players in this story — Henri, the hospital chaplain, the hospital staff, Trevor, and each of us as the readers.  How do the various players view and experience community?  What do we learn about them, and ourselves, as the story unfolds?  Did you develop any new insights about community?

3.  Henri concludes his reflection on “Lifting the Cup” with the example of Bill’s Life Story Book.  Henri writes of Bill, “Over the years he has created a life worth living.”  Henri describes the celebration of Bill’s life that accompanied the completion of Bill’s book.  He asks us to look at our own lives and dare to say, “I am grateful for all that has happened to me and led me to this moment.”  Moreover, he challenges us to “take all we have ever lived and bring it to the present moment as a gift for others, a gift to celebrate.”
To begin you reflection you could consider the celebration of Bill’s Life Story Book.  Then take a look at your life experience. How have you created a life worth living?  Reflect on your life–the joys and the sorrows–and lift it up, ponder it, and find cause for celebration and gratitude.

Once again, the reading this week is deceptively simple and rich in meaning.  The three topics just discussed are merely suggested reflections for your consideration.  We are interested in your comments on these suggestions or something that touched you.  Of course, you are also welcome to follow along silently.  We are blessed by your presence.

May the Lord give you peace.

Ray

July 13th to July 19th: Holding the Cup

Reading: Part I – Holding the Cup
Before we drink the cup, we must hold it!

July 17th Update:  Just a quick reminder, especially for those that may be new to these book discussions.  This is a very informal community and the questions below are merely intended to help us start reflecting, nothing more. The most important ideas to ponder are those that touched you in the reading.   Our community will be blessed your by anything you choose to share or by your silent participation… Ray Glennon

Welcome back!  Last week we shared our initial reflections on Jesus’ question “Can you drink the cup?” perhaps without really understanding the full implication. This week we explore what it means to hold the cup as the first step toward drinking.

Henri reminds us that to fruitfully drink the cup, “You have to know what you are drinking… Similarly, just living life is not enough.  We must know what we are living… Half of living is reflecting on what is being lived… Reflection is essential for growth, development, and change.  It is the unique power of the human person.”

This is a rich section with many meaningful ideas to ponder.   The three included here are offered to help get us started.  You may respond to these suggestions, share your thoughts on something that touched you, or follow along silently.  Regardless of how you participate, you bless us with your presence in our community.

1.  After noting that, like wine, there are countless varieties of lives, Henri says, “I have my own life to live… Many people can help me to live my life, but… I have to make my own decisions about how to live.”  Referring to the sculpture of Pumunangwet (see photo), Henri writes: “He knows who he is… like that warrior, we must fully claim who we are and what we are called to live.” (p. 32-33)

Pumunangwet at Fruitlands Museum Photo Courtesy of Marty Thornton (New England Impressions)
Pumunangwet at Fruitlands Museum
Photo Courtesy of Marty Thornton
New England Impressions
(Click image for larger version)

Review your own life experience and consider:  Do you know who you are and have you claimed it?   What decisions have you made to live “what you are called to live” and how did you arrive at those decisions?   Who are some of the people that have helped you along the way?  If you are willing, share what you found.

2.  Recalling his early years at L’Arche, Henri describes how he became deeply aware of his own sorrows through the lives of those at the heart of the community and their assistants; he then looks at the world and sees much suffering.  Henri writes: “For each of us our sorrows are deeply personal.  For all of us our sorrows are universal.”  (p. 38)
Reflect on the sorrows you have encountered in your past and those that you are living with now. Do the same for the sorrows in our world today.  Seek to see the hope that is ever present in our suffering.  Prayerfully and confidently place those sorrows at the foot of the cross and offer them to Jesus and reflect on how you feel having done so.  If you are comfortable, share your experience with our community.

3.  Looking back on ten years in his L’Arche home, Henri fondly recalls how the people he lives with fill him with immense joy.  He writes of the “joy of belonging, of being part of, of not being different.”   Joining this realization to the “new language” he heard in the words of Jesus, Henri continues:  “The cup of life is the cup of joy as much as it is the cup of sorrow.  It is the cup in which sorrow and joys, sadness and gladness, mourning and dancing are never separated.  If joys could not be where sorrows are, the cup of life would never be drinkable.”  (p. 50-51)
Thoughtfully recall  the joys and the sorrows in your life.  Identify when your joy was hidden in your sorrow and reflect on how you moved from sorrow to joy.  Remember when joy offered comfort as you confronted sorrow and suffering.   Prayerfully recall when Jesus’ presence strengthened you, comforted you, and brought you joy.   Share how the cup of joy is manifested in your life and, if you are willing, how your joy mixes with your sorrow so you can drink your cup of life.

There is so much to reflect on in this section and we look forward to hearing from many of you.   May the Lord give you peace.

Ray