Freedom!

When we are spiritually free, we do not have to worry about what to say or do in unexpected, difficult circumstances. When we are not concerned about what others think of us or what we will get for what we do, the right words and actions will emerge from the center of our beings because the Spirit of God, who makes us children of God and sets us free, will speak and act through us.

Jesus says: "When you are handed over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you" (Matthew 10:19-20).

Let's keep trusting the Spirit of God living within us, so that we can live freely in a world that keeps handing us over to judges and evaluators.

Henri Nouwen - with thanks to the Henri Nouwen Society

One of the things I've noticed about trying to live outside of cultural imperatives is that there's a tendency for people to find it disconcerting, offensive almost. I suppose in a way they feel judged by someone "going to the side and doing it differently," as Richard Rohr said of St. Francis. Perhaps this is one of those little reflections of Jesus' own life you sometimes get when you try to follow him. After all, he said himself, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you." (John 15.20)

What strikes me about Nouwen's words is that by the Spirit within us Jesus himself sets us free from all the fear, the paranoia, that comes with living on the wrong side of the cultural tracks. It actually doesn't matter any more, so long as we ourselves are living out of the centre of love. We may indeed suffer, but through the Spirit, through love, it will be made redemptive. As Paul said, "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8.28) Nouwen is, I think, giving us a glimpse of how that might work.