January 2008 The Road to Daybreak A Spiritual Journey by Henri J M Nouwen

Continue from ...... God's Choice One day Jean Vanier was interviewed on French television. I watched the programme together with his mother, his brother Bernard, who is visiting for ten days, and Simone, a friend from the L'Arche house of prayer, La Ferme. Although I have heard Jean speak frequently, he said things that struck me as new. A few minutes into the interview, Jean started to speak about Eric, a severely handicpped eighteen-year-old who had recently died. He mentioned Eric's deep sensitivity. Eric could not speak, walk or feed himself, but when tension arose between assistants in the house, he banged his head against the wall; and when peace and harmony prevailed, he was joyful and cooperative. "The handicapped often tell us the truth, whether we want to know it or not," Jean remarked, and added with a smile, "It is not always easy to have such a barometer in your house." As Jean mentioned this, I sensed that there is a deep connection between being seen by God and being seen by handicapped people. In the Gospel of John, there is a story about Jesus seeing Nathanael; this story suddenly held a new depth for me. It was importnt for me to be reminded again of this gift of the handicapped. They see through a facade of smiles and friendly words and sense the respectful heart before we ourselves notice it. Often they are capable of unmasking our impatience, irritation, jealousy, and lack of interest and making us honest with ourselves. For them, what really counts is a true relationship, a real friendship, a faithful presence. Many mentally handicapped people experience themselves as a disappointment to their parents, a burden for their families, a nuisance to their friends. To believe that anyone really cares and really loves them is difficult. Their heart registers with extreme sensitivity what is real care and what is false, what is true affection and what is just empty words. Thus, they often reveal to us our own hypocrisies and invite us always to greater sincerity and purer love. My limited experience with handicapped people has made me see the truth of Jean's observation. Being at L'Arche means many things, but one of them is a call to a greater purity of heart. Indeed, Jesus speaks through the broken hearts of the handicapped, who are considered marginal and useless. But God has chosen them to be the poor through whom he makes his presence known. This is hard to accept in a success-production-oriented society.

- To Be Continued - © Copyright Shalom 2008. All rights reserved.