02 June 2019

 

Amis letter 21  (04/03)

 

Dear Amis

 

You are right… there was no Amis letter last week! It is not a matter that you just failed to notice the letter – there wasn’t one. That only due to the fact that I together with two others of the Scots Kirk Paris – attended the General Assembly in Edinburgh.
 

Following my visit to Taize in April 2019 together with three young ones from our Presbytery in Europe, I share with you the four Proposals the Taize Community reflect on this year. Today it is the 3rd proposal. It is all about how we think about ourselves and our limitations. Are you welcoming towards yourself? Do you know that God welcomes you just as you are?

Today I share with you the passage by Brother Alois while next week I would like to give my “testimony” about the day we reflected on this theme.

 

Let us not forget hospitality

Do not forget to show hospitality, for by doing so some people have welcomed angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

 

Third proposal: Welcome our gifts and our limitations too

God welcomes everything in us; in our turn, we can accept ourselves just as we are. That is the beginning of a healing that is so necessary for us all.
Let us praise God for our gifts. Let us also welcome our frailties as a door through which God enters us. To lead us further, to help us to change our lives, God wants us first of all to be welcoming towards ourselves.
Accepting our limitations does not make us passive in the face of injustices, violence, and the exploitation of human beings. On the contrary, consenting to our limits can give us the strength to struggle with a reconciled heart.
The Holy Spirit, a fire hidden in the depths of our being, gradually transforms everything in and around us that is opposed to life.

• In order to discover our gifts and consent to our limitations, let us look for someone who can listen to us with kindness, someone who helps us to grow in life and in faith.

• It is essential to make room for praise in our prayer. It unifies our existence. Prayer sung together is irreplaceable; and afterwards, it keeps on resonating in our hearts.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) What burden and what rest is Jesus talking about? What can I learn from him?

With love

 

Jan Steyn