I read Michael Downey’s piece “On Learning How to Look” (Weavings XXVI/4, Aug/Sep/Oct 2011, “The Art of Loving”) with great delight. It’s only in our willingness to look past stereotypes and categories to the real person behind, to reach out to the ‘Other’ and hence to God in the ‘face-to-face’ approach advocated by Downey (and philosopher Emmanuel Levinas), that we can open our souls to the divine.
A face-to-face approach in which we accept responsibility for the Other is necessary not only on a personal level but for society as well, as we strive to move away from violence and oppression. Mark S. Burrows, in “A Passion That We Feel,” highlights the critical importance of ‘loving our enemy’ even when we are most vulnerable to them. We approach the Other, even the worst Other, the most evil, the most aggressive, the most threatening, ‘God to God’.
Stereotypes and categorizations of people stand in the way of our ability to see their uniqueness. Perhaps this is what Paul meant when he said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28, RSV-CE). Etty Hillesum, defined by the Nazis as a Jew and no more or less than that, recognized that even the aggressor must be understood to be an individual, and as such is worthy of mercy. In taking responsibility for our enemy, we build justice in the world, live in mercy, and free our souls to love.
Downey’s personal experiences in Vietnam and Kenya remind me that the struggle to truly see the Other remains a problem in our world, (and perhaps a worsening one as communication becomes even more faceless with growing social media). But it remains possible. Friendship truly does exist. A willingness to care is embedded within us, a beseeching call from a God who gives us the freedom to sin and thus, most wonderfully and artfully, to love.
Catherine Cavanagh is also a contributor in this quarter’s issue (XXVI/4), “The Art of Loving.” Her article is entitled, “On Friendship in Dark Places.”
A subject close to my own heart. Yes, heart to heart, face to face. I read something once that summed up a good deal of my view on the topic. It went like this: It’s easier to judge me than get to know me. Ain’t that the truth.