The Communion of Saints - Henri Nouwen

more thoughts from Henri Nouwen...

The Communion of Saints

We often limit the Church to the organisation of people who identify themselves clearly as its members. But the Church as all people belonging to Christ, as that body of witnesses who reveal the living Christ, reaches far beyond the boundaries of any human institution. As Jesus himself said: The Spirit "blows where it pleases" (John 3:8). The Spirit of Jesus can touch hearts wherever it wants; it is not restrained by any human limits.

There is a communion of saints witnessing to the risen Christ that reaches to the far ends of the world and even farther. It embraces people from long ago and far away. It is that immense community of men and women who through words and deeds have proclaimed and are proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus.

The Saints Who Live Short Lives

As we see so many people die at a young age, through wars, starvation, AIDS, street violence, and physical and emotional neglect, we often wonder what the value of their short lives is. It seems that their journeys have been cut off before they could reach any of their goals, realise any of their dreams, or accomplish any of their tasks. But, short as their lives may have been, they belong to that immense communion of saints, from all times and all places, who stand around the throne of the Lamb dressed in white robes proclaiming the victory of the crucified Christ (see Revelation 7:9).

The story of the innocent children murdered by King Herod in his attempt to destroy Jesus (see Matthew 2:13-18), reminds us that saintliness is not just for those who lived long and hardworking lives. These children, and many who died young, are as much witnesses to Jesus as those who accomplished heroic deeds.

Saints, People Like Us

Through baptism we become part of a family much larger than our biological family. It is a family of people "set apart" by God to be light in the darkness. These set-apart people are called saints. Although we tend to think about saints as holy and pious, and picture them with halos above their heads and ecstatic gazes, true saints are much more accessible. They are men and women like us, who live ordinary lives and struggle with ordinary problems. What makes them saints is their clear and unwavering focus on God and God's people. Some of their lives may look quite different, but most of their lives are remarkably similar to our own.

The saints are our brothers and sisters, calling us to become like them.

Today (In Reverse)

Headlines again...

I'm thinking a lot about the anniversary of Kristallnacht (see yesterday's headline post) today.

But these headlines also caught my attention:

Senior Rwandan Official Arrested

Monks Brawl at Jerusalem Shrine

Headlines - Weekend Edition

Some news headlines catching my attention:

Germany Remembers Kristallnacht

CBC Reporter Freed in Afghanistan

Mbeki Blamed for 330,000 Deaths

Twenty Die on Russian Submarine

1500 (600)

This is my 1500th post on this blog, and my 600th post of the year. Since April 21, 2005, I have stopped in here to share what I am thinking 1500 times. Since January 1, 2008, I have stopped in here to share what I am thinking 600 times.

I feel like this is some sort of momentous occasion, and I should share with you deep, or happy, or witty thoughts, but really, I've got nothing. I just stopped in to tell you what I'm planning to do with my day, as I lay here in bed at 8:10 am, and think about the shape of the day ahead. If you want deep or happy, or witty, read the post below this, that I put up just before midnight last night. In the meantime, here are some of the things I'm going to do today:

• visit the library
• go to the bank (and just as a sidenote, it would be so much more convenient for those of us who work full time, and need to visit the bank to pay things like our utility bills, if the bank would be open more than just between 10:30 and 3:00 on Saturdays.)
• visit a mall on the other side of town, that I don't usually go to, because it has stores that are unique (LUSH, and the Apple Store, just for starters)
• take the 19 garbage bags of leaves that sit in the corner of my backyard to the city leaf and pumpkin composting drop spot.
• visit the bottle depot and the recycling depot
• cook or bake something yummy. Maybe cranberry poppyseed scones, the non-dairy, edible for me without a stomach ache kind.
• house cleaning
• actually sit in the chair I used to sit in all the time (but haven't hardly at all since moving to the new house in July) to think and read and pray, and do those things, and maybe some writing too, while sitting in said chair.
• shorten a pair of pants I bought a few months back, and sew a button on a pair of pants that's been missing it's button for months now, in order to have two perfectly functional pairs of pants for work.
• visit a fabric shop in search of just the right fabric for a project that I have in mind.
• Treat myself to a cup of tea from the coffee shop, instead of just making it myself at home, and perhaps to a walk in the park while sipping the cup of tea, or, at the very least, a nice break with a scone.
  

I think that might be it. I know there will be a myriad of other, little things that will crop up through the day, and I'm trying to notice the little things, too, but for now, those are the things that I've got planned. A satisfying, and yet not overwhelming list, that I'm sure will change and morph as the day progresses. Wishing you a satisfying but not overwhelming Saturday as well.