One of my spiritual fathers, Henri Nouwen, talks about the importance of consolation. Consolation is a beautiful word. It means “to be”(con-) “with the lonely one” (solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see. We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with AIDS, the family whose house burned down, the soldier who was wounded, the teenager who contemplates suicide, the old man who wonders why he should stay alive.

Cliff

One of my spiritual fathers, Henri Nouwen, talks about the importance of consolation. Consolation is a beautiful word. It means “to be”(con-) “with the lonely one” (solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see. We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with AIDS, the family whose house burned down, the soldier who was wounded, the teenager who contemplates suicide, the old man who wonders why he should stay alive.

Cliff

And so, now you know why Lent lasts 40 days (excluding Sundays which are celebration days), because Jesus spent 40 days preparing for the rest of his life, for his mission, his calling.  And so, you and I take this time during Lent to prepare – for the next chapter of our lives, for determining really important things: what’s essential, next steps, do I go this direction or that?   

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Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you. (Josh 1:9).

 Many people hope for a quick fix, but, have you ever known that to work?  As Malcolm Gladwell has told us so convincingly in his book, Outlier, it takes 10,000 times doing something that sets one apart.  Did you know that the Wright brothers flew and crashed and flew and crashed over and over again.

 Did they ever get dismayed?  Almost never.  They believed in what they were doing; they worked hard at it.  As you’ve discovered already in your life, good things come to those who persistently engage in those things which advance them toward their goal:  a vibrant Christian life takes daily abiding; whether it is meaningful parenting, a fruitful marriage, a productive life, a successful career, you name it, they all take persistent trial and error improvement, every day.

 Is that daunting?  Not as daunting as doing the opposite!  Rather, it is rewarding beyond measure because it is accompanied with the satisfied feeling of knowing one has given it one’s best. It is also a great gift to know that God is with us through it all.

 Cliff

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Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them (Josh 1:6). 

Whatever your task is today or tomorrow, you will need an inner strength and courage to do it, to be who God has created you to be.  That inner strength and courage comes to us the same way it came to Joshua: through the indwelling presence of God – God will be with us, within us, giving us courage and strength for whatever lies ahead.  It may be the challenging/rewarding task of being a parent, a spouse, a worker, a CEO, a Shepherd, a Care Giver.  Whatever, truly, whatever your day holds, God is eager to be with you in a way that gives you inner strength and courage. Now, you and I just need to let God be God! 

Cliff
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Midweek January 13, 2016

 The Lord said to Joshua:  “Moses my servant is dead.  Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them – to the Israelites.”  (Joshua 1:2).

 I’m not Moses, and I’m not dead – yet!  But the word of God for us is as true and relevant as it was to Joshua and the Israelites:  Get ready to cross over; get ready for the next thing God will be doing in our midst, get ready to cross the Jordan River.

 I have been to the Jordan River, as have some of you.  It’s not very wide; it has come to have great symbolic meaning, as in the hymn about crossing over the Jordan – into heaven, or crossing over the Jordan into the promised land of all the new that God has for you.

 All of us are always in a time of some sort of transition, when you think about it, not just the big and obvious ones of job change, retirement, marriage, move, but also the little times of transition that occur every day and sometimes multiple times a day, like: a change of plans, a traffic detour, a family member changes his/her mind, waking, sleeping, deciding.  So, these words to Joshua from God have the potential to be helpful to us all. Stay tuned as God reveals God’s new and glorious plan.

 This word to Joshua – and now to all of us – is a great theme for the new year!  We will be looking at these opening words of the Book of Joshua these weeks of January.  In the meantime, I, too, encourage you to be strong and courageous – not because of your own strength, but because of the greater truth that God is with you wherever you go! Happy New Year!

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