NASCAR, American Idol, and Nouwen

A great day today in Korea. Two worship services, time to sleep, and now only one week until I am hopping a flight for home.

Last week, I shared with you my initial experience with Deacon Kim, the fast-driving, enthusiastic, stick shift destroying, mini-van driver who almost made me puke on the way to my 3 week home. Today, as I entered worship service at the nursing home, I heard a strong, but gentle voice. Yes, you guessed it, our Deacon is a true renaissance man, an artist with RPM's and with baritone tunes. He played the guitar with great conviction, and the love of Christ shone through in his countenance.

Each day, he serves in the nursing home, transporting patients, cleaning them, cleaning up after them, looking at delivered product for quality, and usually with a smile, and laugh. In what most consider mundane, he has found ministry. As he tends to the "least of these" that our Lord spoke of. He is, in effect, providing love to the Body of Christ. As he cleans the food from the mouth of a 85 year old stroke victim, he is touching the face of Christ. Bandaging the wound on the eye of a delusional man, it is as Christ himself is saying, "I am still here, and I can still heal, and I am the balm that you need.

Henri Nouwen came to America in the 1950's as a ship chaplain, and eventually became a man of great education and influence. He served as professor of psychology and pastoral care at Notre Dame, Harvard, and Yale. He spent the last years of his life among the community of L'Arche Daybreak in Ontario. He abandoned the prestige and comfort of the educated world, to live among people with severe developmental disabilities. These were people who had no knowledge of his writings, nor could they even read. They could do little for themselves, and could barely utter a word. But, these are the people who, for Nouwen, embodied Christ's call to live in a community where all of our wounds, frailties, and weaknesses, become a means where we are more closely connected to the wounds of the crucified Lord.

Life is funny, I am the naked preacher, that flies into town with a message to share, a little wisdom from the mind and heart of one educated in a college and proud holder of a Masters degree. I am well read, and love to debate the dynamic ideas of philosophy and religion. I love to have conversations about the pauline/non pauline authorship of Hebrews, and even dabble in discussing the 3 main views of the Book of Revelation. In these brief weeks, I have two chances to share the message that God has given.

But Deacon Kim has a lifetime, and I am moved to say that he uses the same reckless abandon that he drives with, in his love of Christ and service to others. I was not needed at all in the nursing home, as they have a closeness to Christ, that I long for. Perhaps I can take some driving lessons from the good Deacon, and singing lessons, and most importantly, serving lessons.

And Jesus said...As you have done it unto the least of these, You have done it unto Me.