Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
"If people knew us as we really are, without all the things we have gathered and done, would they still love us? Or would they forget us as soon as we were no longer useful? Are we good because of what we do or have, or because of who we are?"
Voice 2
Today’s Spotlight is on the story of two very different men. One man is educated, a teacher and a writer. He is a respected Christian thinker. The other man cannot read, write, or speak. He cannot put on his own clothes. What do these two men have in common?
Voice 1
Henri Nouwen was a respected teacher and writer in Christian thought. He held teaching positions at Yale and Harvard Universities. He wrote books on leadership, love, and forgiveness. But there was something missing from his life. He had never felt like he belonged.
Voice 2
He looked at many communities, and many places. Finally, he quit his teaching job and moved to the L’Arche community. L’Arche communities exist in many countries. A L’Arche community is several homes in a normal area. People with disabilities live together with people who assist them. It was at L’Arche where Henri Nouwen met Adam Arnett.
Voice 1
Adam Arnett was born a happy, healthy baby. Yet, around three months old, he suffered his first epileptic seizure. Epilepsy is a condition that affects body control. It can cause seizures, when the body shakes out of control. And in young children, it can cause serious development problems.
Voice 2
Because of a mistake in his care, Adam once received too much medicine. This reduced Adam ability to move or speak. People could not always understand what he needed. Once, Adam fell during a seizure. It was weeks before someone noticed that his teeth had been pushed up into his mouth. Adam was unable to cry for help.
Voice 1
As Adam grew his parents knew they could no longer care for him. They decided to place Adam at L’Arche.
Voice 2
When Henri Nouwen moved to L’Arche, the workers asked Henri to care for Adam. Henri was not sure. He thought that someone else could care for Adam better. It was a lot of work to care for Adam.
Voice 3
“Helping Adam meant the following things: wake him up. Take off his sleeping clothes and put on a bathrobe. Walk him to the bathroom. Cut the hair on his face and wash him. Choose clothes for the day, put them on him. Brush his hair. Walk him to the kitchen and make his meal. Sit next to him as he eats his food. Support his glass as he drinks. Clean his teeth. Put on his coat, gloves, and cap, and get him into his wheelchair. Then, push him to his program, where he will spend the day.”
“I had to keep asking people, “Why me? What am I doing here? Who is this man who is demanding so much of my time each day? Why should I take care of Adam and not someone whose needs are a bit less?” The answer was always: “So you can get to know Adam.” Now that was a question for me. Adam did not speak or react to anything I asked him. Adam did not smile when I did something well. He did not protest when I made a mistake. I wondered if he even recognized me. How would I get to know him?”
Voice 2
But the more time Henri spent with Adam, the more he got to know him. And Henri began to change. He began to see things differently.
Voice 3
“My whole life had been shaped by words, ideas, and books. But now what became important to me was Adam and our time together. He gave himself to me, to be cleaned, clothed, fed, and walked from place to place. Being close to Adam’s body brought me close to Adam. I was slowly getting to know him.”
“My time with Adam became my quiet hours. It became like a long prayer time. Adam kept showing me in his quiet way, “Just be with me. Trust that this is where you have to be... nowhere else.”
“Working in my office or talking to people, Adam came to my mind. I thought of him as the quiet centre of my life. ... Adam was becoming my teacher, taking me by the hand, walking with me in my confusion through the wild parts of my life.”
Voice 2
People came to visit Henri. These people knew him before he came to L’Arche. To them, he was the respected teacher and writer. They thought he was wasting his time. They thought he should be writing books. But when people finally met Adam, they began to understand.
Voice 3
“Many people who came to visit were affected by Adam’s beautiful, quiet presence. Some told me that when they returned home they kept thinking of him. Their time with Adam gave them a chance to think differently about their lives, their goals, and what they wanted. Adam offered those he met a safe space to recognize and accept their own, unseen disabilities.”
"When I had the courage to look deeper, to face my emotional weakness, the word “handicap” started to have a whole new meaning. The fact that my handicaps where less seen did not make them less real.”
Voice 2
Adam Arnett died in 1996. Adam was a centering force in the lives of many people. This was not something he could have done better if he had a different body. He was gifted because of the body that he had. Henri said it this way,
Voice 3
“Adam’s humanity was not reduced by his disabilities. Adam’s humanity was a full humanity, in which the fullness of love became clear to me, and to other people who grew to know him.”
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