Do miracles happen in Taizé?
Last week I had the opportunity to visit Taizé with two of my colleagues, my doughter and five students. For me it was the first time and I didn't know what to expect.
The place is beautiful and the weather was lovely, sunny and warm.
Three times a day a service with lots of singing various hymns and lots of time for praying.
The hymns are short but powerful
Seigneur tu gardes mon âme
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near
Beati i poveri
Donna pacem Domine
The songs, arranged for several voices, are repeated so often that they touch your hart and soul.
How I long for the the Lord to come. And once you repeat this song and listen to the singing: "Wait for the Lord, whose day is near, wait for the Lord keep watch, take heart", its enough to make one cry.
When you sing and repeat "Donna pacem Domine" and in your mind you see the millions of people fleeding their countries it makes you cry.
And whenever you sing and repeat several times "Seigneur tu gardes mon âme" it is enough to make me cry realising how safe I am in His hands.
Do miracles happen in Taizé?
Yes
The first evening at dinner time when I was looking for a place to sit and eat, a young man invited me to sit with him because it was a table for six and they were with five. So I joined him and saw the others coming, another lad and three boys with Down's syndrome. I scrolled through the pictures on my phone and showed them my son with Down. For me a miracle doesn't need to be a weird supernatural event. But I do believe God intervened and brought us together, this couldn't be coincidence. During the rest of the week I had dinner with them :-) how I enjoyed it.
Taizé an earthly paradise?
No
I noticed from my partners at dinner that people with Down's sydrome are not fully welcome in Taizé. They are seen as unable to participate in the youth groups and they are to old for the childrens activities. Missed opportunity.
Didn't Jesus answer on the question: "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" "I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you wil never enter the Kingdom of heaven. The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like a child. And whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me."(Matthew 18)
No
One morning a brother of Taizé was explaning the book of Ruth. Het introduced the story as a tale or a parable with a message of the greatest love. Ruth stayed with her mother in law and gave up her homeland for a new land, a new culture and a new religion. Boaz married her. Ruth became pregnant and had a son. They named the boy Obed who became the father of Jesse who was the father of David.
When he was leaving I had to stop the brother and I asked him why he introduced Ruth as a tale while they are the ancestors of Jesus Christ. I was disappointed because the brother looked away, smiled a little, said something about nourishment and walked away from me.
Staying in Taizé however is a wonderful experience and if surely so many young people will be the salt and the light for the whole human race and if the community of Taizé shines its light before people, everyone will see the good things and praise our heavenly Father.
May God bless Taizé