The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14
“Our deep hunger for communion is a precious gift from God and a true driving force of our spiritual journey. Our hunger for communion is the source of our faith, our hope, and our love. It is also the source of our unbelief, our despair and our fear. The way we live with our hunger for communion is the decisive factor in our lives…
It is precisely in communion with God through prayer that we discover the call to community. It is remarkable that solitude always calls us to community…We gather around us people with whom we want to proclaim the truth that we are the beloved sons and daughters of God. Community is not easy…
Why is it so important that solitude come before community? If we do not know we are the beloved sons and daughters of God, we are going to expect someone in the community to make us feel that we are. We will expect someone to give us that perfect, unconditional love.”
Henri Nouwen in A Spirituality of Living: The Henri Nouwen Spirituality Series (The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust, 2011) 21f.
Generosity is about receiving and giving gifts from the Giver. Consider the gift of our hunger for communion. In Christ, we learn in solitude that nothing compares to being in Christ. This includes adoption into a family. We are the beloved sons and daughters of God.
Once we have learned this profound truth, that the hunger within each of us to belong can only be satisfied by Christ, we can celebrate community with others. It is not easy because of our humanness, however, it’s possible because we have found the unconditional love we need in Christ.
Today we fly to New York City as a family in communion together. We will be joined there by Sophie’s boyfriend, Peter Gomez. We are headed to see Les Miserables on Broadway and then we will head to Camp Spofford where I will teach next week in New Hampshire.
I am excited about Sophie and Peter’s relationship. It’s great that they are making good choices and that he wants to be a pastor, but what I love most is that they each possess a hunger for communion with Christ separately, so they come together as two “whole” people, rather than two needy people looking for the other person to give them only what Christ can.
The hunger for that which satisfies, the hunger for communion is a gift, a priceless gift from God. Have you received it? You will never be generous with others until you have. You will always relate to them looking for something in return. We show that we have received that gift for what it is when we extend communion to others, as fellow members as God’s family.