DARE TO CARE

Caring for others is linked with a willingness to be open to them. This openness seems to have two dimensions. We must be open to accepting and loving them as they are; but also to allowing ourselves to be known and be accepted by them. This requires a willingness to be vulnerable, to allow others to see in us what we often wish to hide: character flaws, areas of sin, wounds, etc. The barriers we erect to prevent us from drawing close to others often serve to shield us from admitting, to ourselves and God, our own shortcomings.

Jesus said, “Do not judge or you too will be judged….Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the while, there is a plank in your own eye?” (Matt 7:1; 3-4, NIV).

Nouwen’s phrase “dare to care” reminds me that suspending those judgments of others—tearing down those barriers to closer communion with others—sometimes requires courage. I’ve found that when I take the action to embrace others, I can no longer hold onto judgments against them. I’ve also found that drawing close to others and allowing myself to be known often reveals that “speck in my eye.” Such a revelation is a priceless gift, although it may not seem so at the time. It gives me awareness of my own sin and an opportunity to repent, confess and receive God’s mercy. And, when I deal with the speck in my own eye, I find I am able to embrace the good and the bad in others, without judgment.

Nouwen reflected on how the evil and good deeds of others could very well be our own; we share in the same humanity.

“When we dare to care, we have to confess that when others kill, I could have killed too. When others torture, I could have done the same. When others heal, I could have healed too. And when others give life, I could have done the same…”

When I mediate on the image of the blood spilling out of Christ’s crucified body, I remember that His blood spilled no less for others than it did for me. I offer this image as a way to help us further realize our common humanity and to draw closer to the God who cared so much for us that he was willing to die to save us.