Henri Nouwen on Hiddenness

I found several gems from Henri Nouwen in my inbox when I returned from vacation, and now I'm sharing them with you!

The Hidden Life of Jesus

The largest part of Jesus' life was hidden. Jesus lived with his parents in Nazareth, "under their authority" (Luke 2:51), and there "increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with people" (Luke 2:52). When we think about Jesus we mostly think about his words and miracles, his passion, death, and resurrection, but we should never forget that before all of that Jesus lived a simple, hidden life in a small town, far away from all the great people, great cities, and great events. Jesus' hidden life is very important for our own spiritual journeys. If we want to follow Jesus by words and deeds in the service of his Kingdom, we must first of all strive to follow Jesus in his simple, unspectacular, and very ordinary hidden life.

Hiddenness, a Place of Intimacy

Hiddenness is an essential quality of the spiritual life. Solitude, silence, quiet, ordinary tasks, being with people without great agendas, sleeping, eating, working, playing Ö all of that without being different from others, that is the life that Jesus lived and the life he asks us to live. It is in hiddenness that we, like Jesus, can increase "in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with people" (Luke 2:51). It is in hiddenness that we can find a true intimacy with God and a true love for people.

Even during his active ministry, Jesus continued to return to hidden places to be with God alone. If we don't have a hidden life with God, our public life for God cannot bear fruit.

Hiddenness, a Place of Purification

One of the reasons that hiddenness is such an important aspect of the spiritual life is that it keeps us focused on God. In hiddenness we do not receive human acclamation, admiration, support, or encouragement. In hiddenness we have to go to God with our sorrows and joys and trust that God will give us what we most need.

In our society we are inclined to avoid hiddenness. We want to be seen and acknowledged. We want to be useful to others and influence the course of events. But as we become visible and popular, we quickly grow dependent on people and their responses and easily lose touch with God, the true source of our being. Hiddenness is the place of purification. In hiddenness we find our true selves.

Looking Up...

I watched a fun movie with an old friend tonight - No Reservations. Made me smile.

I had a long, unscheduled phone call with one of my favorite people tonight. That makes me smile.

I'm going to the mountains for the weekend - time away, some with friends, some hiking, some time drinking tea in a cosy shop and writing.

On Thursday night I'm going for a walk in the park with my mom - that should be nice too.

I'm still confused, still tired, frustrated, and uncertain on many fronts. But at this moment, I'm experiencing that most elusive of things - hope. And it feels pretty good.

Nothing of My Own to Say

I'm processing some stuff - again. Praying, and waiting. Believing and doubting.

Renee had some beautiful things to say tonight, though. I identify with a lot of the stuff she talks about, particularly the last couple of paragraphs. You can find the whole post here.

I Think I need a Vacation....

I think I need a vacation from my vacation. I've been up earlier several days this week than I get up to go to work. I'm almost glad that I'm just spending the next couple days (starting tomorrow) at a conference.

Today, however, I'm going to Ptarmigan Cirque. This is one of my favorite places in all of creation. So beautiful. Probably louder today than normal since we're taking my two teenaged male cousins with us. A hike, a drive through beautiful country, should be a good day.

This is a picture from Ptarmigan Cirque last year with Megs:See ya around!

Happy Birthday to Me

I spent the morning (from 6 am til noon) sitting in the back of my dad's drift boat, floating down the world famous Bow River while my aunt and uncle were fly fishing.

I'm going to Elbow Falls for a bit this afternoon.

Then birthday dinner tonight.

Another good day.