Daily Devotion - Tuesday, January 10

A New Year Dawns

“God has put a new song in my mouth,
it is a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
And put their trust in the Lord.”
--An ancient Hebrew song (Psalm 40:3)

NOTE: One of the finest spiritual guides of the 20th century was Henri Nouwen. This week’s devotions are a small tribute to Henri, a teacher who faithfully pointed people to God.

As we begin a new year, I would pray that we would begin the year with hope. Here is a story that Henri liked to tell about the meaning of compassion. I use it today as a reminder about our commitment to offer quality, compassionate care.

“Once there was a very old man who used to meditate early every morning under a large tree on the bank of the Ganges River in India. One morning, having finished his meditation, the old man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the strong current of the river. As the scorpion was pulled close to the tree, it got caught in the long tree roots that branched out far into the river. The scorpion struggled frantically to free itself but got more and more entangled in the complex network of the tree roots.

“When the old man saw this he immediately stretched himself onto the extended roots and reached out to rescue the drowning scorpion. But as soon as he touched it, the animal jerked and stung him wildly. Instinctively, the man withdrew his hand, but then, after having regained his balance, he once again stretched himself out along the roots to save the agonized scorpion. But every time the old man came within reach, the scorpion stung him so badly with its poisonous tail that his hands became swollen and bloody and his face distorted by pain.

“At that moment, a passerby saw the old man stretched out on the roots struggling with the scorpion and shouted: ‘Hey, stupid old man, what’s wrong with you? Only a fool risks his life for the sake of an ugly, useless creature. Don’t you know that you may kill yourself to save that ungrateful animal?’

“Slowly the old man turned his head, and looking calmly in the stranger’s eyes, he said: “Friend, because it is the nature of the scorpion to sting, why should I give up my own nature to save?”

--Ben Keckler
01.10.12