| Clowning in Rome - Henri Nouwen This is one of my favorite Nouwen books, along with Compassion and Return of the Prodigal Son. I think that what I appreciate and enjoy most about Henri Nouwen is his taste for the paradox, the upside-down-kingdom perspective on things that must be under a lord who declares that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. And that sense of upsidedownness is probaby in its finest form in Clowning in Rome -- hence the title. In his quiet yet confident voice, Nouwen speaks of profound paradoxes -- how solitude is the foundation of community, celibacy the key element of a good marriage (or any intimate relation), and silence the basis of conversing with God. I am learning how to read Nouwen's books as well, and it is something like the prayer life he talks about. I have been frustrating by the somewhat repetitive content of them in the past, but in some way, it is good and true that he sings the same tune repeatedly, with different variations. Somewhat in the same way of the Gospels -- it is good that there are four, though the story is basically the same. I am learning to quiet myself when I read Nouwen's books, not to read them quickly or intellectually or academically or even necessarily for content. It is amazing to me how often the Spirit speaks to me while reading these books: sometimes directly related to the content, sometimes not related at all. I am thankful for Nouwen's willingness to be a vessel for the Spirit through his writing, and for the environment these books help create within my spirit -- one in which I am especially attentive to the Spirit's whisperings. I strongly wish that more people would read brother Nouwen's books, and hope that others find the same gold in them that I do. I strongly, firmly believe that it is Christianity of this sort -- this quiet, irrelevant, powerless spirituality -- that has the power to profoundly affect the world: indeed, that it is this kind of Christianity that has changed the world in past centuries. |