Listening for good news

In hopes of embodying the same

A presence always available

There’s always plenty of disturbing news out there. I sometimes wonder if that’s why I periodically wake in the middle of the night.

When I woke this morning, after a blessedly peaceful night, a meditation from Henri Nouwen caught my attention:

“As I live these days, I want to stay away from all the big news on TV and radio. For just a while, I want to fast from political, economic, and religious debates. I simply want to be…. and open my heart for a new encounter with Jesus.”

- from Finding our Sacred Center: A Journey to Inner Peace

That sent me to another favorite book by Nouwen, a collection of letters to his nephew, Marc. Here are a few short excerpts, any one of which serves well as a focus of meditation:

“Whereas the way of the world is to insist on publicity, celebrity, popularity, and getting maximum exposure. God prefers to work in secret.”

“It is very important for you to realize that perhaps the greater part of God’s work in this world may go unnoticed.”

“You need to set aside some time every day for this active listening to Jesus, if only for ten minutes. Ten minutes each day for Jesus alone can bring about a radical change in your life.”

- Nouwen, Letters to Marc about Jesus (pp. 68, 72, 84)

James Finley likes to say, “That which is essential never imposes itself. That which is inessential is always imposing itself.”

Unfortunately, the inessential has a way of pushing my buttons, and it can even define my life for significant periods of time.

I’m sure that is why a verse from the psalms frequently comes to me when I wake in the middle of the night:

I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.

- Psalm 85:8

I want to turn my heart to this One. I want to listen for this peace, for this good news, not as a way of denying the bad news, but as a way of living more faithfully among it, as a faithful witness to something greater.

My friend, Sam, listens regularly for the quieter voice of love. I’m sure that’s one reason he drove to D.C. the other day. He just wanted to pay tribute to one whose life was an inspiring witness to the good news that is available to us all.