Henry Nouwen:
Imagine having no need at all to judge anybody. Wouldn't that be true inner freedom?
When you are interiorly free you call others to freedom, whether you know it or not. Freedom attracts wherever it appears. A free man or woman creates a space where others feel safe and want to dwell. Our world is so full of conditions, demands, requirements and obligations, that we often wonder what is expected of us. But when we meet a truly free person, there are no expectations, only the invitation to reach into ourselves and discover there our own freedom. Where true inner freedom is, there is God. And where God is, there we want to be.
This text spoke to me last summer and has been occupying me ever since. I long for the freedom of being myself! I often feel boxed in by the judgement and expectations of others, especially Christians. That´s sad. But I'm no better myself! I judge others more often than I think. "Imagine having no need at all to judge others. Wouldn't that be true inner freedom?" This connection was new to me, and I tried to artificially eliminate this "need". I sat on the beach and watched the people walking past me. It was a very narrow beach, and you could watch the people pretty well. Their facial expressions, postures, figures, clothes, conversations, moods, bags, drinks, sunburns. I looked at them very closely, like in a scientific field study. Without judging anyone or anything. It made me happy - and somehow, I actually felt free! I really saw those people. As if I could see their souls. Their beauty behind the façade. Their vulnerability. They were like me! At that moment I felt light, happy and free. When I don't judge others, I don't have to be afraid of being judged myself. I sat on that beach and I didn't think for a minute about my appearance or what others think of me. Not that I do so often while sitting on the beach. I'm either reading or I'm hypnotized by the waves. But there are moments when we are uncertain of ourselves. Of our appearance, our behavior, our possessions. We often compare ourselves unconsciously and are sometimes worse, sometimes better. But not to judge anyone, not even myself! That's something. That's freedom. That´s how Jesus sees me.
We watched the movie Avatar with friends during the holidays. A nice word of encouragement of the indigenous people from this fantasy movie is: "I see you!", which expresses understanding, recognition and acceptance. I imagine Jesus looking deep into my eyes saying, "I see you"!#
"You are the God who sees me!" Hagar said in the wilderness when God helped her in her distress. God understands. He does not condemn us. He knows us. He looks into our soul, into our heart.
She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me,"
for she said, "I have now seen the One wo sees me."
Genesis 16:13