Henri Nouwen “Hospitality is the ability to pay attention to the guest. This is very difficult, since we are preoccupied with our own needs, worries and tensions, which prevent us from taking distance from ourselves in order to pay attention to others.” We were delivering some things to a family when their special needs son came out into the yard. His mother asks him to help. Instead he came over to talk to one of the youth. “Why are you wearing your baseball cap backwards?” he asks with a disconcerting stare. He looks straight into the eyes of the youth with no indication that he will leave until he is answered. “Are you in a gang?” he asks. To my surprise, the youth puts the carton down that he is carrying and talks to the boy. “I’m not in a gang. It looks cool to wear it backwards.” The boy responds quickly, “Do you like to fight?” The mother tries to intervene but the Native youth just smiles at her. He answers the boy directly. “No, I’m not a fighter. It’s a waste of time and I’ve got better things to do. Do you want to help me with this box?” The boy agrees and we continue unloading the boxes. Later, I compliment him on his kindness. He says “I have a cousin like that. What I like about him is that he is so direct about what he wants to know. He doesn’t lie. I guess that he reminds me to pay attention to the people who are usually ignored.” I thought about all the other members of the family that I had not noticed. I just worked on getting my job done. I also thought of the many times we have spent the time talking to the homeless and how blessed we are when we discover a depth and a kindness in those who live on the streets. I resolve again to pay attention to those who are usually ignored. In faith, Kaze
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:17:08 +0000
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