[Archive] Henri Nouwen's Solitude, Community & Ministry Essay Review

Mr. Nouwen emphasizes that, to be a disciple of Christ, a disciplined life is essential. Discipline not in terms of control but rather an effort at creating spaces in which God can act. He centers his message on the story in Luke 6: 12 – 19; which tells of a typical Jesus’ day. The day started with an all-night of prayer followed by the appointment of the 12 disciples, and thereafter the going out to preach the Word, to heal and to care for the people. 

The essay describes the three disciplines of solitude, community, and ministry.  

Mr. Nouwen writes that in solitude [described as being with God] we discover that we are ‘beloved’ – that which enables us to deal with successes and failures without losing our identity. In the hub – a central anchor to all of life of solitude we discover the call to community;  in solitude,  we  realize that we are a part of a family and want to lift something together Mr. Nouwen writes. Mr. Nouwen describes Community as a way of life which encompasses the disciplines of forgiveness and celebration.  Forgiveness is to allow the other person not to be God; if one can forgive, than one can celebrate another’s gift; and to celebrate each other’s gift is to accept each other’s humanity, Mr. Nouwen writes. 

Ministry is not something that one does [although entails doing many things] but something that has to be trusted – emanates from all the disciplines described above says Mr. Nouwen. As an example, to trust that healing power would go out of oneself and people would be healed whether or not it is noticed is ministry. Elaborating on healing, Mr. Nouwen surmises that the healing ministry can be expressed in two words – gratitude and compassion. Healing is said to happen often by leading people to gratitude as opposed to resentment. Our ministry is to help people to gradually let go of resentment; to discover that right in the middle of pain, there is healing; where there is mourning, there is dancing; where there is poverty, there is the kingdom writes Mr. Nouwen. And, compassion he describes as to suffer with, and to live with those who suffer – to have the courage to be with people and to go where there is poverty, loneliness and suffering.

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
                                                                                                                  - Luke 6: 12 – 19 (NIV)

Dec 2012