i listened again recently to an NPR interview - on the show Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett, interviewing Jean Vanier. oh, and jean vanier is so lovely.
i'd been thinking of it lately, thinking i should listen to it again some time. i downloaded it and another interview in the spring when someone directed me to them, so i have them at the ready to listen any time i want. so i put it on to listen while i was doing some computer work at the library. and i just got so caught up in jean vanier's stories and reflections. his theology of the body, of concrete experience, of the value of persons with disabilities being of course each person's unique personality, gifts, etc. to offer, but also the universal fragility and vulnerability that they remind us of. they can teach us how to relate, how to love, of the importance of touch.
i have a link here to the transcript of the interview and you can download and listen to the interview as well. but i also have to copy and paste a couple of the more moving stories - 2 of my favorites:
Jean Vanier: Yes, I was sitting and there was a man who was a bit glum like a lot of people, a bit glum. And but, and anyway, there was a knock on the door. And before I could say "Come in," Jean Claude walked in and Jean Claude technically would be Down syndrome. And Jean Claude shook my hand and laughed, and shook the hand of the other fellow and laughed, and went out laughing. And the man that had been in my office looked at me and said, 'Isn't it sad, children like that?' And I mean, he, what was sad was that he was totally blind. He didn't see that Jean Claude was happy.
and the one that made me a blubbering cry-er in my little corner of the public library:
Jean Vanier: Yes, I, you see, L'Arche is not based first on the word. You'll find lot of communities which are based on the word, thus to say we speak of an ideal together and we are committed to an ideal or to a vision and so on. But L'Arche is based on body and on suffering bodies. And so they are seen as useless, and so we welcome those who apparently are useless. And it's a suffering body which brings us together. And it's attention to the body. You see, when somebody comes to our community and is quite severely handicapped, what is important is to see that the body is well. Bathing, helping people dress, to eat. It's to communicate to them through the body. And then, as the body can become comfortable, then the spirit can rise up. There's a recognition. There's a contact. There's a relationship.
We see this with some of our people, like Françoise. Françoise came to our community in 1978, very severely handicap. She couldn't speak, she could walk a bit, she couldn't dress herself, she was incontinent, and she couldn't eat by herself. And today, she is nearly 30 years older, 74, whatever it is, 76. She has become blind and a beautiful person.
There was somebody who came to our community not too long ago who was, saw Françoise and the reaction was, 'Oh, what is the point of keeping Françoise alive?' And the leader of the little house said, 'But madam, I love her." I mean, it's as if you come in to a home and grandma is in the home and she has Alzheimer's and you say, 'What is — but she's my grandmother.' I mean, so it's based on the body, and then from the body, relationship grows.
this is why i want to do l'arche, why i love l'arche - even as i have never actually lived l'arche itself quite yet. but i have indeed fallen in love. just as i fell in love with the order of deacon, i have fallen in love with l'arche. and i must pursue it, challenges, flaws, hurdles, hoops, and all.
and i must just make a side comment that in my reflections about the vanier interview and these stories, i was reminded of part of the reason why relationship with a particular person who i was in long-term, romantic relationship with - would have never worked, could have never worked (unless some serious changes of heart occurred - i am also a firm believer in possibility of surprise and change, because i have witnessed it). we had a conversation about his thoughts about persons who do not deserve to / ought not live - which was very similar to the story that vanier tells about francoise. my partner and i were speaking of such things as abortion and death penalty, and his belief was that persons who are a drain to society (read "economy") ought not live. so, persons with disabilities, persons who have killed another person and are on death row, etc. all ought not live - or at least they have lower priority for receiving resources than others who are contributing or show more promise for contributing to society (economy). i replied saying, well, you see, you might remember that i had this experience living 2 months with 2 dear people with developmental disabilities, and i carry with me from place to place some of the things they produced - artwork, jewelry, not to mention the memories and continued relationship with them that i carry within me. the artwork and jewelry can and does usually end up with a price on it and is taken to market, but generally you can't put a sufficient price on what i received from them, nor especially on their lives. they are contributing so much. and yet it isn't even about that. everyone-everyone-everyone is valuable, lovable, deserves to live. and i wish more people had opportunity to learn such lessons. and i think that is part of l'arche's mission which resonates deeply within me, and which i will take up in my work with l'arche. we need-need-need all persons who have been marginalized - persons who are homeless, persons with disabilities, persons with mental illness, etc. - because they remind us tangibly, visibly of our own vulnerable, fragile humanity, and teach us to be tender with those around us.
may we all continue to learn lessons in being human, living ordinary, difficult lives in our bodies, in relating, in loving.
love.
jessica
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