When we can see a person, then we come to know her. When we come to know the person before us, we come to love that person.
This weekend I was reminded of how preconceived notions can crumble once we actually spend time with people. Yesterday I recalled how our assumptions often turn out to be incorrect.
Yesterday some former guests who used to live here at the Catholic Worker House, and our current guest Samah and I walked into downtown Redwood City. We went to see my fellow Catholic Worker Susan perform in her band, which was playing in the midst of a festival happening here in town. We took food and beverages with us in a cooler and had a picnic on the town square.
At one point, everyone else was out exploring the festival as I sat in one of the folding chairs we had. I was looking across the square and noticed Samah on the steps of the building directly across from me. She was standing there looking out across the crowd, wearing her sunglasses, sleeveless top and shorts. As I watched her, I was struck by how she was wearing thoroughly summer clothing although she is Saudi.
A short while later, she rejoined me at our picnic spot. I shared with her emphatically, "I never, ever, ever would have expected to meet a woman from Saudi Arabia wearing a sleeveless top and shorts!"
I had been coming to that conclusion without contact with Saudi women. I had always heard that Saudi women had to wear headscarves and be completely covered. Of course, Saudi women are supposed to have the permission of a male relative to travel; Samah is contradicting that Saudi cultural norm by refusing to return to Saudi Arabia despite the demand that she do so. Similarly, she rejects the societal expectation that as a Saudi woman she wear a headscarf and be completely covered.
Despite how Samah bucks cultural expectations, the fact remains that when we operate without contact with others, we remain in the dark about them. When we interact with them, we learn who they really are. As we come to see them in front of us, the light of truth illuminates their true identity for us.
When we get to know our neighbor, we find that we are not as different as we had assumed. We find we are more alike than we had thought.
When we come to find that our neighbor is like us, we come to love our neighbor as ourselves, just as Jesus taught us to do.* When we open our hearts to our neighbor, we open our hearts to love. When we open our hearts to love, we open our hearts to God.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
This weekend I was reminded of how preconceived notions can crumble once we actually spend time with people. Yesterday I recalled how our assumptions often turn out to be incorrect.
Yesterday some former guests who used to live here at the Catholic Worker House, and our current guest Samah and I walked into downtown Redwood City. We went to see my fellow Catholic Worker Susan perform in her band, which was playing in the midst of a festival happening here in town. We took food and beverages with us in a cooler and had a picnic on the town square.
At one point, everyone else was out exploring the festival as I sat in one of the folding chairs we had. I was looking across the square and noticed Samah on the steps of the building directly across from me. She was standing there looking out across the crowd, wearing her sunglasses, sleeveless top and shorts. As I watched her, I was struck by how she was wearing thoroughly summer clothing although she is Saudi.
A short while later, she rejoined me at our picnic spot. I shared with her emphatically, "I never, ever, ever would have expected to meet a woman from Saudi Arabia wearing a sleeveless top and shorts!"
I had been coming to that conclusion without contact with Saudi women. I had always heard that Saudi women had to wear headscarves and be completely covered. Of course, Saudi women are supposed to have the permission of a male relative to travel; Samah is contradicting that Saudi cultural norm by refusing to return to Saudi Arabia despite the demand that she do so. Similarly, she rejects the societal expectation that as a Saudi woman she wear a headscarf and be completely covered.
Despite how Samah bucks cultural expectations, the fact remains that when we operate without contact with others, we remain in the dark about them. When we interact with them, we learn who they really are. As we come to see them in front of us, the light of truth illuminates their true identity for us.
When we get to know our neighbor, we find that we are not as different as we had assumed. We find we are more alike than we had thought.
When we come to find that our neighbor is like us, we come to love our neighbor as ourselves, just as Jesus taught us to do.* When we open our hearts to our neighbor, we open our hearts to love. When we open our hearts to love, we open our hearts to God.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
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