May 17, 2019
Not long after I moved to Yellowknife in the summer of 1986, we had a special speaker visit the Yellowknife United Church: Jean Vanier. I remember going to hear him speak, in the "sanctuary" space, which also served as a meeting place for many community events in Yellowknife. I can picture him there, in his customary navy blue jacket, towering above almost everyone else in the room even as he drew everyone into what felt like an intimate conversation. I can’t remember precisely any of his words that evening, but what I do recall is his presence. To be in his presence was to find oneself in a sacred place.
Jean Vanier offered us a vision of the essential value of each human being. He reminded us that difference does not mean less equal, and provided an inspiring example of how we can relate to one another. His thinking, and his way of living, led to the establishment of the L’Arche communities, which continue to transform lives around the world. His writing, including the book
Becoming Human based on his
Massey Lectures in 1998, has inspired me and so many others.
Not everyone though. I remember suggesting
Becoming Human to a book club that I was in and being taken aback when someone commented, “This guy can’t be for real.” I think of that as an indication of how hard it is, in the world of consumerism and self-centredness that we all live in, to believe that true goodness exists.
Yet I think that it does, and I am grateful for the life of Jean Vanier and the challenge to be a better person that he offered to me, and to each of us.
[Photo via Phytospiritualite]
Several years ago the CBC ran a contest of sorts, where anyone could nominate the person they thought was our “greatest Canadian”. I proposed Jean Vanier, and I wasn’t alone: he came 12th in the list of nominees (between Louis Riel and “Stompin' Tom” Connors).
I don’t think I would change my nomination today, but I doubt that Jean Vanier was upset at his placing. Given the humility which he exemplified, he likely would have been embarrassed if he had been chosen! Peter Short, who was the minister at the Yellowknife United Church when Vanier visited in 1986, told me that Vanier was their guest at the manse, and upon learning that he was going to displace one of the children from their bedroom, he insisted on sleeping in the basement. I suspect that he would have been embarrassed to be remembered in this way too: it would have seemed to him to be just the natural human response, nothing notable.
So many in our church have been influenced by the life and work of Jean Vanier, either through involvement in L’Arche communities or simply through hearing him speak or reading his words. At least two from the United Church will be attending his funeral in Trosley-Breuil, a village north of Paris. The Rev. Louise Cummings, who will be there as part of a L’Arche delegation from western Canada, has said, "Although I am not in any official way representing the United Church, I carry with me the thoughts and prayers of all of you whose lives and ministries have been blessed and challenged by Jean's witness.” Another of our ministers, the Rev. Donna Tourneur of Trinity United Church and Glasgow United Church in Nova Scotia, has been invited by L’Arche International to
join four other Church Leaders from France, England, and Ireland at the funeral. In an interview with the North Glasgow News, Rev. Tourneur noted that Jean Vanier, “makes the point that the universal language of faith is love.”
What a beautiful way to remember him. What a compelling example for us each to remember as we live our lives with one another.
