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"The resurrection does not solve our problems about dying and death. It is not the happy ending to our life's struggle, nor is it the big surprise that God has kept in store for us. No, the resurrection is the expression of God's faithfulness to Jesus and to all God's children. Through the resurrection, God has said to Jesus, "You are indeed my beloved Son, and my love is everlasting," and to us God has said, "You indeed are my beloved children, and my love is everlasting." The resurrection is God's way of revealing to us that nothing that belongs to God will ever go to waste. What belongs to God will never get lost."
It was interesting to see the two different and unexpected reactions to this quotation today. When I used it for an initial meditation time in the Wisdom Class, everyone's reaction was quite positive, especially for one member whose wife died a year ago. (The Wisdom Class is a weekly book study--currently reading A Case for God by Karen Armstrong.)
When my EFM class was presented with it, it aroused criticism and discussion about "resurrection," which could have gone on and on. One member objected to the word "everlasting," saying she preferred "eternal." Another disliked the word "children" and concentration on Jesus. Someone else did not like the infantile ending where Nouwen writes that nothing will be lost in God. The discussion was very interesting and revealed a lot about each one of us, especially since this was the second to the last EFM class for this year (and more specifically, for seven members of the class who will "graduate").
I realize that I resist analyzing it, because I find the short quotation very comforting. When I think of my deceased parents, I like hearing that they are loved and not lost. As I grow more cognizant of my age and future demise, I take comfort from these words for myself. Plus, I liked that heaven is not viewed as a "reward."
This was another gem posted by Ellie at The Anchorhold. Please let me know if you know where Henri Nouwen wrote this, whether in a book or an article.
6 comments:
I didn't understand the comment you mentioned about "the infantile ending." Is it only because we were called "children"? Aren't we told to become like children? I loved the notion that nothing will be lost. God's love is infinite and nothing we can do can equal or overcome it. So nothing will be lost. All will be well. Eckhart says "There is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and nothing you can do to make God love you less."
I like this quote very much. I'd also like to know the reasoning behind the comments from your EFM group, since none of them makes any sense to me!
Henri Nouwen, Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1995) - from some searching - from a retired librarian
It's a lovely reading...I can only imagine EFM provoking such a discussion and comments from the participants. EFM is such a wonderful program.
A good quote and entirely appropriate for Easter. And Nouwen is theologically correct when he says ". . . that nothing which belongs to God will go to waste." Even our bodies are not mere husks, which are cast aside. They will be resurrected. Perhaps many today, inside the Church even, believe we live on in a disembodied existence, which is a semi-Platonic view of the afterlife? That some disliked the term 'children' and even a focus on Jesus is revealing about their issues than with the doctrine itself.
Finally, what does the EFM stand for?
EFM is Education for Ministry and is published at Sewanee, the American Episcopal seminary. It is a four year course of study covering OT, NT, church history, and more recent cultural, church, philosophical history. Look here.
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