Retreat!!!!!

Just came back from a weekend spiritual retreat..it was much needed. One of the things we did is read an article on Temptation by Henri Nouwen. It is based in the temptations of Christ in the wilderness. It discusses the temptation to be relevant, to be spectacular, and to be powerful. What I took away from this is that none of these 3 temptations are in and of themselves evil, it is our motives behind them that make them so. If my drive to be relevant is based on wanting appreciation from people, then it is not done in the right spirit. If I desire to be spectacular, it is about my glory. If I seek power, it is about me lording over someone else.

Nouwen talks about the "downward way."
"Just as we came to see God in the downward way of Christ, so we will become truly sons and daughters of God by becoming participants in this downward way, the way of the cross."

When we do not seek to be relevant, spectacular or powerful except in and through Christ then we truly are living for God. This is how we become counter-cultural. We do not seek the praise and glory of this world, but of God alone.


The downward way, the way of the cross, struck me this morning as we were closing with worship in the outdoor chapel at John Knox Ranch On the left side of the chapel, toward the front there is a stairway that then leads to a rocky path down to the road below.

The first few steps are wooden and not that difficult to traverse. Then the path is steep and rocky. There are logs in place as steps, but it is a difficult trek. The path then leads out of the trees and into a clearing. There in the sunlight is a road. Our downward way is like this too. The first steps are easier. There are habits and parts of ourselves that we can give up for Christ without too much trouble, but then the path becomes rockier and more difficult. Once we have traversed the path, the ground becomes level as we approach the foot of the cross. There, in the light, we walk the road which is not always smooth itself. We walk, like Jesus, on the road with fellow travelers, we meet people where they are.