Henri Nouwen

I am struck by how many blogs are political in nature. I am struck how often I delve into the political realm and often how frustrating it is. One thing is for certain, about politics. Politics do have a tendency to divide people. A lot.

I am going to take a holiday from mentioning anything political. My universe is a theological and spiritual universe and I want to focus more on that.

What motived me was seeing a Facebook group on Henri Nouwen and I began to think a lot about Nouwen. Henri Nouwen was a Roman Catholic priest who, through the 1970's and 1980's was probably one of the most proficient writers on spirituality. He was something of an ‘expert’ on all things spiritual and many people, including me, read a great deal of Nouwen’s works.

Nouwen passed away a few years ago. Cardinal Bernadin was dying in Chicago and Nouwen flew to see the Cardinal to talk about dying like a Christian. Nouwen and Bernadin talked and Nouwen proved to be a great inspiration to the Cardinal. In an interesting twist of fate, Nouwen flew home to Canada (where he was living at the time) and died of a massive heart attack.

Nouwen was a Roman Catholic priest who taught at a Protestant Seminary at Yale. Later in his career he abandoned that to take care of a profoundly disabled man. That became his ministry.

There were several things that made Henri Nouwen an amazing person.

First, I stated that he was something of an expert on all things spiritual and many would agree with me on this. One person who would not, however, would be Henri Nouwen. He would be quick to remind people that there are really no experts on God, and on spirituality. Nouwen would be quick to remind everyone that he was a pilgrim on the journey; much like everyone else.

Part of what made him special was this kind of humility. It is easy for clergy to decree ourselves to be brilliant and highly spiritual. Most of us, when we are honest, are anything but. It’s just difficult to get us to be honest. Nouwen, however, was always honest. He was a struggling traveler on the road; and was the first to admit it.

Secondly, Nouwen saw that there was more to Christianity than theology and theological vantage points.

The Christian Church, the Body of Christ, is, by definition, supposed to be one. It is not. It is often divided by theological viewpoints and interpretations of the Bible, and by whatever else we can think to divide ourselves by. It is often ironic that Christianity often defines itself by its perspectives on gay rights and abortion; two topics Jesus never delved into. I suspect this is true because these issues are probably easier to face than generosity and sacrifice. It is far easier to have an opinion on subjects than to live generously and sacrificially. Theology is far easier to discuss than it is to live in a Christ like fashion.

No one ever really knew Nouwen’s theological viewpoint. Was he a liberal or a conservative? The truth is, Nouwen never mentioned it. I suspect he didn’t think it mattered.

I keep thinking that I’d like to be more like Henri Nouwen when I grow up.