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July 14, 2005

nouwen knows my name

I heard a song on the radio today whose repeating refrain was, "All I can do is be myself." And I thought of Polonius: "To thine own self be true." Indeed I've heard one variant or another of this advice many, many times in my life. "Don't try to be something you're not," we say. It is widely and profoundly felt, in our culture, that it is a virtue to be who we are, and to avoid artifice.

I heard another song today, which said, "I won't tell 'em your name." I thought about the vulnerability of having one's name known. It came to me that the intrinsic individuality of a name simultaneously acknowledges the presence of a community. I would not need a name if there were no others. I have a name to distinguish me as unique among those who are like me.

If there is a name, an identity, a self to which we must be true, which is intrinsic and stable enough to span our entire lives, then who gives us such a name?

I hear at my center words that say: "I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother's womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover, and your spouse...yes, even your child...wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one." --Henri J. M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved

These words Nouwen wrote as from God, who, in John the Revelator's vision said, "To him who overcomes...I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." [Revelation 2:17] This tells us there is a name intended for the community of two which exists between each individual and God himself. God has a name for each one of us which he uses to distinguish each one of us as unique among the vast sea of others who are like us.

I believe the profound longing we feel to be "true to one's self" is an old, almost-but-not-quite vestigial longing to be true to the name God has given to each of us.

Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World By Henri Nouwen / Crossroad Publishing Co. (PUBCrossroad)Written in response to a friend who wanted spirituality explained to secular people, Nouwen follows the pattern of communion: "Taken," "Blessed," "Broken," and "Given" to spell out God's love. From one of the most popular modern spiritual writers, widely admired for his authenticity. 160 pages, softcover.

Posted by joel at July 14, 2005 05:20 PM

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Posted by: k_sra at July 15, 2005 01:41 PM

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