A friend pointed me to Henri Nouwen's book, Life of the Beloved. In it, he writes to an unbelieving friend and his friends on how to live a spiritual life in a secular world. I resonated with it because I've been writing a study group curriculum on how to survive work using the Sermon on the Mount. Outside the church, it's not an easy life. We dread work. We're consumed with endeavors that earn money so we can pay bills or pay for leisure activities.
Nouwen describes the spiritual life in a secular world as: Taken, Blessed, Broken and Given. This parallels, obviously, the last Passover meal--Seder--Christ shared with His disciples before the Crucifixion. He took bread. He blessed it. He broke it. He shared it. During the ceremony, He says, "Take, eat. This is My body." Or as Luke records His words, "This is My body given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." These latter words are echoed in Paul's writings, notably 1 Corinthians 11, as he chastises people who won't share food at the Lord's Potluck.
In many places in the Greek scriptures, the universal church is described as the body of Christ. "We are His body..."
If Christ's own earthly body was taken, blessed, broken and given, should we not follow our Lord and Master similarly? Perhaps we need to learn what it means to first be Taken (chosen) among a pile of matzah bread. Realize we are blessed (hence the beatitudes for the poor in spirit, those who mourn, are merciful, peacemakers, and so on). The hardest may be surrendering or submitting to be broken so that we might be a blessing to others, when our lives and resources are shared or given away. Might we already be broken by loving and serving our families, our neighbors, our community, our colleagues in different venues--that our gifts, talents, resources are divided in order to serve His people, His precious creation?
This feels like a lifelong journey, and one Nouwen acknowledges he's also still learning.
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