Leaven Leaven Volume 2 Issue 2 Ministry of Consolation Article 14 1-1-1992 The Living Reminder, Henri J.M. Nouwen The Living Reminder, Henri J.M. Nouwen Mark Love [email protected]Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Love, Mark (1992) "The Living Reminder, Henri J.M. Nouwen," Leaven: Vol. 2 : Iss. 2 , Article 14. Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol2/iss2/14 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Religion at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Leaven by an authorized editor of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
Transcript
Leaven Leaven
Volume 2 Issue 2 Ministry of Consolation Article 14
1-1-1992
The Living Reminder, Henri J.M. Nouwen The Living Reminder, Henri J.M. Nouwen
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven
Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology
and Philosophy of Religion Commons
Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Love, Mark (1992) "The Living Reminder, Henri J.M. Nouwen," Leaven: Vol. 2 : Iss. 2 , Article 14. Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol2/iss2/14
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Religion at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Leaven by an authorized editor of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
THE LIVING REMINDERHenri J.M. NouwenSeabury Press, 1977
When considering the inward life of theChristian and the aspects of consolation that goalong with it, Henri Nouwen's name comes to mind.His eloquent prose has kept the path toward knowingGod illumined and exciting. An early work, TheWounded Healer, spoke in contemporary ways (atleast for the 60's) offinding rootedness and meaningfor life through joining with others in suffering.Other works, Compassion, Reaching Out, haveinspired and challenged conceptions of spiritualityand ministry. But my favorite Nouwen book is TheLivingReminder. My copyofthe book is filled with"dog-eared" pages and underlines and scribbled notes.I return to its pages often whether to find a meaningfulquote, to live in its images as I ponder a sermon, orto remind myself ofperhaps the most vital aspects ofmy life in ministry. I confess that it is one of myfavorite books because it is short and the large printmakes the 80 pages more of a stroll than a hardacademic work-out. But there are several places tostop and breathe deeply the aromas created byNouwen's writing.
The thesis of the book is simple. Ministry isrooted in remembrance and the minister serves as aliving reminder of Jesus Christ. Vital to this un-dertaking is a life of service and prayer. His stated
Jack Reese, Editor
concern is the "relationship between the professionaland personal life of those who want to work in theservice of the Gospel. (The questions of this book)call for a careful explanation of the connectionsbetween ministry and spirituality."
The book is divided into three sections: TheMinister as a Healing Reminder; The Minister as aSustaining Reminder; The Minister as a GuidingReminder. Each chapter focuses first of the sourceof life for the task, then the task itself, and finallyfocuses on the person connected to the task. Forexample, the sub-headings of the first chapter are:The Wounds; The Healing; The Healer.
As a healing reminder, the minister allowsothers to remember the unspoken things that bindthem by tying their forgetfulness to the memory ofthe one who suffered for all. As a sustaining reminder,the minister learns to remind others of Christ bothin presence and absence, in usefulness and use-lessness. As a guiding reminder, the minister con-fronts and inspires others, leading them to recapturea vision ofwholeness in Christ. The key to becomingthe living reminder in each of these three ways isspiritual formation.
Prayer is central to this formation and theservice ofministry. In fact, prayer for Nouwen is notjust something that prepares us for service. It isservice. "Prayer cannot be considered external tothe process ofministry. Ifwe heal by reminding eachother of God in Christ, then we must have the mindof Christ himself to do so. For that, prayer is
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indispensible. "While this book is aimed at professional
ministers, anyone could benefit from reading it. Allof us are called to be living reminders. Especiallythose who have been given or called to pastoral rolesin the church need to consider Nouwen's insights.Besides, it is only 80 pages.
Mark LoveGresham, OR
HOW CAN IT BE ALL RIGHT WHEN EVERY-THING IS ALL WRONG?Lewis SmedesHarper & Row, 1982
Smedes asks the penetrating question ofthis book early in the first chapter. "How can we beground down in pain and grief and death and stillbelieve that it's all right at the center oflife?" Thisis a question that makes doubters ofus all from timeto time, and is certainly a question that comes withany ministry of consolation. Smedes answer to thiscentral question oflife is the gift ofGod's grace. "Theanswer must be blowing somewhere in the winds ofgrace."
For Smedes, "grace is power, I say, to see lifeve.ry clearly, admit it is sometimes all wrong, andstill know somehow, in the center ofyour life, 'It's allright.' This is one reason we call it amazing grace."The gifts of grace that empower our life are manyand wear many names. Chapter by chapter Smedesexplores the gifts ofgrace and gives insight into howthey can point to a God that is greater than one'ssuffering. Joy, forgiveness, freedom, wonder, suf-fe~ing,being ordinary, an open heart, faith, patience,being held, and hope are all explored as manifesta-tions of grace. None ofthem are a panacea for life's~lls. But taken together they form a dwelling placem God that allow us to make sense oflife even whenlife makes no sense.
Each chapter is written in Smedes' personaland familiar style. Reading the book is a little likehaving a long conversation with a friend who knowsa little of what you are going through. The book isfull of stories and anecdotes of people's lives thattouch common chords. The book is full of colloquialtheology, sermonettes on life. Occasionally the bookreveals interesting insight into scripture texts. Forwhat it is, it is very good. My favorite chapters werethe ones on suffering and being held where Smedes
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combined scriptural insight, the grist of daily life,and theological exploration into something that spoketo the heart.
This is a book to give to someone having ahard time. It serves well as a starting point fordiscussion in adult classes or small groups. Itprovided me with a rough outline for a topical ser-mon series: "God's gifts for everday life." As usual,Smedes has delivered something useful for thechurch.
Although several ofthe volumes ofthe WordBiblical Commentary, including this one, have beenout for 10 years, my impression is that the series isstill relatively unused among churches of Christ.However, the general quality of this commentaryseries makes it worth examining carefully. If ourneglect ofthe series needs tobe changed, Bauckham'scommentary may be a good place to start.
Bauckham reverses his treatment of Judeand 2 Peter from the biblical order because hebelieves 2 Peter 2 to be dependent on areworking ofJude. He would therefore chronologically place Judefirst.
Starting with Jude gives the reader an ex-cellent introduction into Bauckham's fine work. Heessentially adopts traditional opinions on author-ship and date, considering it quite plausible for thebrother of Jesus to have written his "epistolarysermon" (which Bauckham accepts as a genuineletter) to Palestinian Jews, in the 50's. And, incontrast to much of contemporary scholarship,Bauckham pointedly discounts and objects to thework of Kaasemann and others concerning "earlyCatholicism" as the ecclesiastical milieu for thewriting ofboth Jude and 2 Peter. This will certainlypopularize his work among conservatives.
The most significant contribution byBauckham is his description ofvv. 5-19 as midrashseeing vv. 3-4 and 20-23 as the real point of -Iude'swriting. In this he links the book closely to Palestin-ian Jewish Apocalyptic, and theorizes that a band of
itinerant charismatics (turned false teachers) haveinvaded the church to which Jude has written.
For Bauckham - who wants to take Jude outofthe second century and "early Catholicism" - thesefalse teachers are not to be closely linked with eithera well-defined secondcentury Gnosticism or an earlier"incipient Gnosticism." He chiefly bases this opin-ion on a lack of Gnostic cosmological dualism inJude. But at this point Bauckham may be drawingtoo distinct a line between "incipient Gnosticism"and what he describes as "one of the streams thatflowed into later Gnosticism, but which at this stageis not distinctly Gnostic."
His point is well taken that there is in Judeno signs ofwell-developed Gnosticism against whicha necessarily late pseudepigraphic author is writing.But in his attempt to prove Jude's link to the firstcentury, Bauckham makes too drastic a distinctionbetween Jude's opponents and Gnostic or pre-Gnosticthought. The verities ofreligious thought in the firstcentury prohibit in mymind, fine distinctions between"incipient Gnosticism" and "streams that flowed intolater Gnosticism, but which at this stage (are) notdistinctly Gnostic." Certainly, as Bauckham himselfpoints out, many attributes ofGnosticism are presentin Jude's opponents. Pre-Gnosticism or incipientGnosticism is, therefore, for me, still the best way ofdescribing the opponents of both Jude and 2 Peter.
This is not to detract from what is on thewhole a fine commentary. Most of what Bauckhamdoes with Jude makes a great deal of sense of thebiblical evidence, making Bauckham's work the bestI've read on Jude - and I just finished preachingthrough Jude!
Bauckham has also done excellent work inhis treatment of2 Peter, although he is not beyondcriticism. This is largely because of Bauckham'slinking of 2 Peter with Hellenistic Jewish writingslike 1,2Clement and the Shepherd ofHermas. Style,theme, and vocabulary, he says, make these laterworks the best parallels to 2 Peter, and he posits for2 Peter a date and origin similar to theirs.
Bauckham admits that scholarship hastended to push the writing of these later works backinto the end ofthe first century, and even grants that2 Peter could have been written 20 years before theearliest ofthese; but he fails to state that this periodof20 years (say, A.D. 85 or 90 minus 20 years) putsthe writing of2 Peter back very close to what tradi-tional opinions are about 2 Peter's authorship. Hetherefore, discoun ts Petrine authorship, holding that2 Peter is a blatantly transparent pseudepigraphicwork, written within the genre of Jewish "testa-ment." To my mind this is not sufficiently war-ranted.
Bauckhams's best work is his refutation ofKasemann's views of2 Peter as the best representa-tive of early Catholicism. This alone is worth theprice of the commentary, and it is an excellentsupplement to E.M.B. Green's 2 Peter Reconsid-ered.
Bauckham's work in Jude is excellent, buthis work on 2 Peter should be balanced by Green'scommentary in the Tyndale series. Many ofGreen'sconclusions are not acceptable to contemporaryscholars, but until arguments are presented byBauckham, or others, which show why Green's workis not the best explanation of both the internal andexternal evidence regarding 2 Peter's origins, thetraditional line of Petrine authorship can be de-fended.
Kelly CarterVictoria, B.C., Canada
CHARISMATIC CHAOSJohn F. MacArthur, Jr.Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI,1992.
This book does for general audiences whatFrederick Dale Bruner's work, A Theology of theHoly Spirit, did for a more limited, scholarlyreadership. It is a clear, well-documented, boldassessment of the charismatic movement and thetheological quagmire it has spawned. MacArthurmanages tobe straightforward without being unkind,biblical without being polemical, and logical withoutappearing to argue for an emotionless (and Spirit-less) religion.
Charismatic Chaos, however, is less aboutthe charismatic movement than about the founda-tions of a confident faith. Reformation Christianity,built firmly on the ideal of sola scriptura, has alwaysviewed God's revelation through the Bible as theultimate arbiter of theology and experience. Life isviewed through the lens of scripture and weightedaccording to its teachings.
The charismatics represent a significantchallenge to that mind set. MacArthur charges thatthey make experience the ultimate arbiter of allthings, including the Bible itself. Their theology is inconstant flux, blowing before the ever-changingwindof personal perceptions. For them, revelation isongoing, with God speaking through modern-day
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prophets just as forcefully as through their ancientcounterparts. The resulting theological chaos hasled to the state that "charismatic celebrities barelyeven give lip service to biblical authority."
Chapters in this book deal with pertinentquestions such as: Is experience a valid test oftruth?Does God still give revelation? Does God promisehealth and wealth? Interspersed with these arehelpful insights for developing an alternative view ofthe Spirit: How should we interpret the Bible? Howdo spiritual gifts operate? What is true spirituality?
The reading is easy and often shocking (aswhen Benny Hinn is quoted as saying to his critics,"I wish God will give me a Holy Ghost machine gun:I'll blow your head offl") MacArthur writes in a clearand conversational style that makes the materialaccessible to most people without sacrificing thecareful and biblical basis of his thinking. Charis-matic Chaos is a timely and helpful work that Iheartily recommend.
Tim WoodroofBeaverton, OR
HOPEFUL IMAGINATION: PROPHETICVOICES IN EXILEWalter BrueggemannFortress Press, 1986
How does one continue in the face of devas-tating loss? This is the question that God's peopleare left with in the face of the destruction ofJerusa-lem and the temple in 587 BCE. With the reality ofexile, Israel's faith must find a new existence withGod and project a hope for the future that takes intoaccount their profound loss. Walter Brueggemanntraces some of themes from the prophetic voices ofthis time that allow Israel to live in exile withhopeful imagination.
For Brueggemann, 587 is a pivot, even ametaphor, for Israel's existence. This point in timemust bring "the end of the known world and itsrelinquishment," and "the reception of a new worldgiven through these poets," the prophets of God.Hopeful Imagination traces the prophetic voicesfound in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and 2 Isaiah. Eachvoice, using poetry as a subversive and liberatingway of speaking, paints a different picture ofthe doorthat will lead to hope and new life with God.
The section on Jeremiah is wonderful. Thischapter, "Only Grief Permits Newness," powerfully
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traces the difficult task of speaking the truth oflossbefore a people lost in self-deluding slogans. It isJeremiah's task to cause the people to embrace theirloss, to convince them of the incurability of theirwound. It is only through grief that newness cantake root. "If the hurt is fully expressed and em-braced, it liberates god to heal. Then all of the oldpower arrangements are jeopardized as the newhealing transforms. Nothing but grief could permitnewness."
While Jeremiah's ministry is a call to relin-quishment and grief, Ezekiel's ministry ("Only Ho-liness Gives Hope") is concerned with holiness. Hisministry embodies the holy love ofGod which is bothtough and submissive. Judah is called to turn fromidolatry, sexual misconduct, and economicirreponsibilitytowardneighbors. ButitisnotJudah'srepentance that will be the source of future hope.Hope rests only in the holiness of God -- his other-ness -- and the fact that he will act on behalf of hisholy name. "Allhope for the future rests in the verycharacter of God, for this God will take seriouslybeing God."]
The section concerning 2Isaiah, "OnlyMemory Allows Possibility," is provacative, espe-cially for what it says about the task of preaching.Many may be uncomfortable with the designation 2Isaiah. But one does not have to hold to any criticalview of the composition ofIsaiah for this chapter tohold meaning. As Brueggemann writes, "Our ex-position posits a theological situation of exile andnewness, without respect to historical situation."The poet of2 Isaiah attempts to create a "homecom-ingmentality" in the midst ofexile. Memory ofGod'sdecisive acts in history is the bridge between thesetwo worlds. "The poet appeals to the old memoriesand affirmations in an astonishing way to jar theperceptual field of Israel and to cause a whole newdiscernment of reality ."
Brueggemann is not just concerned withexposition. He is concerned with how these worksmight inform ministry. He boldly asserts thatAmerica is in exile and that the subversive poetry ofthe prophets can bring hope to our situation today.Much has been said and written concerning ourmovement being in the throes oftransition. It seemsto me that exile may not be too distant a metaphorfor our churches. We are caught between relin-quishing and receiving. Our hope will also comethrough grief, holiness, and memory. Finally, thisbook is written in Brueggemann's unique, imagi-native style. It provides a creative place to thinkabout the message of the prophets and the task ofministry.
