The Selfless Way of Christ - Nouwen

In this book Nouwen explores the lure of upward mobility as seen in three temptations.

1. The temptation to be relevant (to make productivity the basis for our ministry)
2. The temptation to be spectacular
3. The temptation to be powerful

He highlights these same temptations in his book In The Name of Jesus but offers slightly different responses.

In The Name of Jesus responds with...

1. Contemplative Prayer
2. Confession & Forgiveness
3. Theological Reflection

The Selfless Way of Christ responds with...

1. The Discipline of the Church (As the incarnation)
2. The Discipline of the Book
3. The Discipline of the Heart (Prayer)

Here are a few quotes that challenged me along with a few of my responses...

"We can only call ourselves witnesses of Jesus when we have head him with our own ears, seen him with our own eyes, and touched him with our own hands." (p.14)

"The Spirit is the breath of Christ in us, the divine power of Christ active in us, the mysterious source of new vitality by which we are made aware that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us (cf. Galatians 2:20). Indeed, to live a spiritual life mans to become living Christs." (p.20)

Last week my friend Stu and I were talking about his idea of breath. As we live out the spirit filled life our breath becomes the breath of Christ and suddenly our words have power to strengthen, encourage, and challenge others with supernatural force. This isn't necessarily the result of study (though study isn't bad) or the result of cleverly devised sermons (though sermons are not bad). Instead, it is the result of the spirit of Christ. As we die to ourselves it is Christ who is resurrected, not our old selves. Ronald Rolheiser explores this idea in depth in chapter 7 of The Holy Longing.

"It is not enough to try to imitate Christ as much as possible; it is not enough to remind others of Jesus; it is not enough to be inspired by the words and actions of Jesus Christ. No, the spiritual life presents us with a far more radical demand: to be living Christs here and now, in time and history." (p.20)

This is incarnational Christianity.

"Jesus' call to discipleship is primal, all-encompassing, all-inclusive, demanding a total commitment. One cannot be a little bit for Christ, give him some attention, or make him one of many concerns." (p.21)

"We are quite willng to say that we should not forget the poor, that we should share our gifts with those less fortunate, and that we should give up some of our surplus for the many who have not made it. But are we ready to confess that those whom we should not forget, those who are less fortunate, those who did not make it, are in fact the blessed ones in the Reign of God, the ones who call us to downward mobility as Jesus did?" (p.35-36)

I found this rather convicting in light of my recent work in the area of giving.

"In a variety of ways we are made to believe that we are what we produce. This leads to a preoccupation with products, visible results, tangible goods, and progress." (p.50)

"We do not resist the temptation to be relevant by doing irrelevant things but by clinging to the Word of God who is the source of all relevancy." (p.53)

"'Truth' in our culture has become so largely determined by statistics that it is easy for us to truly believe that the number of people who listen, watch, or attend is a measure of the quality of that which is presented." (p.54)

"The more praise we receive, the more we desire." (p.57)

"The discipline of the Christian disciple is not to master anything, but rather to be mastered by the Spirit. True Christian discipline is the human effort to create the space in which the Spirit of Christ can transform us into his lineage." (p.70)

"Personal prayer is not rewarded by acclaim, does not translate into helpful projects, and only rarely leads to the inner experience of peace and joy." (p.83)