Sep 2011 The Road to Daybreak A Spiritual Journey by Henri J M Nouwen

Continue from ...... Seeing and Hearing Since Peter's arrival I have been more concerned with seeing than with hearing. One of Peter's reasons for spending two weeks here is to make a photographic essay of life at L'Arche in Trosly. So much can be shown that cannot be said. So much can be expressed by a face that cannot be expressed in word. Among handicapped people words are certainly not the most important way of communicating. Often the eyes say more than the mouth. Peter has taken hundreds of photographs. He moved gradually from catching the beauty and charm of houses, gates, and statues to catching the more hidden beauty and charm of people playing, laughing, eating, and praying together. He was wise to wait a while before making photographs of the men and women living here in community. A relationship of trust must develop before people are willing to be photographed. It is remarkable how much easier it is to get permission to make a tape recording than to take a photograph. It seems as if taking a picture is experienced as more of an intrusion than recording a voice. Happily, the people here have become more and more at ease with Peter's presence as a photographer and have even started to invite him to their homes and places of work to take pictures. His kindness and patience have made him seem less and less a threat and more and more a friend. We like to show our faces to our friends. In the Gospels "to see" and "to hear" are among the most used words. Jesus says to his disciples, "blessed are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! In truth I tell you, many prophets and upright people longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it" (Matthew 13:16-17). Seeing and hearing God are the greatest gifts we can receive. Both are ways of knowing, but all through the scriptures I sense that seeing God is the more intimate and personal of the two. This is confirmed by my own experience. A telephone conversation is such a poor way of being together compared to an encounter face to face. And don't we often say on the phone, "I look forward to seeing you soon"? Seeing is better than hearing. It is a lot closer. While I try to find words that can be heard or read, Peter tries to find images that can be seen. Few people at L'Arche will read what I write or hear what I say, but many will look again and again at the photographs Peter has made. Peter's presence here is a great gift - not just to me, but to all who will see what he saw and rejoice in the way he saw it.

- To Be Continued - © Copyright Shalom 2011. All rights reserved.