A Thought From Nouwen

I receive these daily emails from the Henri J.M. Nouwen foundation, and today's - the first Sunday of Lent - was one of my favorite thoughts from his book "In the Name of Jesus". A good meditation for Sunday.

"Jesus' three temptations in the desert were about choosing 'upward mobility'. Be relevant: do something the world will praise you for like making bread out of stones. Be spectacular: jump from the tower so that everybody can see you as someone so influential, so important. Be powerful: kneel before me and I will give you dominion over everyone and everything. But, Jesus said, 'No'. Because Jesus knew that God's way is not to be relevant, or spectacular, or powerful. God's way is downward. 'Blessed are the humble.  Blessed are the poor of heart. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the peacemakers'."