To Dan, a wise and wonderful friend -The book ends with Nouwen speaking with a handicapped member of the L'Arche community after returning from a speaking engagement which they attended together.
In the confident hope that God is not yet done with you.
Love,
Dave
As we landed, I said to Bill, "Bill, thanks so much for coming with me. It was a wonderful trip, and what we did, we did together in Jesus' name." And I really meant it. [1]The most meaningful thing from the book for me was the lovely parallel between the inscribed first page and the manner in which Nouwen finished, and Nouwen's reflection on the disciples being sent out by Jesus in pairs. My friends regularly show me what love and patience means and people like Dave continually turn my eyes to Christ and fill me with gratitude that I've never traveled alone.
It is hard to remember that Jesus did not come to make us safe, but rather he came to make us disciples, citizens of your new age, a kingdom of surprise. That we live in the end times is surely the basis for our conviction that [God has] given us all the time we need to respond...with "small acts of beauty and tenderness," which Jean Vanier tells us, if done with humility and confidence "will bring unity to the world and break the chain of violence." So we pray give us humility that we may remember that the work we do today, the work we do every day, is false and pretentious if it fails to serve those who day in and day out are your small gestures of beauty and tenderness. [2]
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[1] Henri J.M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus (New York: Crossroad, 1989), 101.
[2] Stanley Hauerwas, "September 11, 2001: A Pacifist Response." http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/911site/hauerwas.html
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