“I have seen you”

Recently on a Sunday afternoon I was sitting at the edge of our couch, dusting one of our two statues representing the pastoralist Turkana people of Northern Kenya. I heard a voice in the hall followed by an exclamation of surprise, then a knock at the door. When I opened our door, shock, disbelief, and joy were felt on each side of the threshold. “Susan!” I exclaimed. “Bob!” Susan cried out. Kristi joined the circle and we reveled in each other’s presence. Several times during that chance encounter Susan said, “Rabuna fi,” “the Lord is here.” Susan, a former cleaner in our building, happened by the building that day and saw me from the hallway. We were so blessed to experience her presence and her friendship again. Susan saw us and then acknowledged the presence of the Lord. It was a holy moment.

Dusting statue of a Turkana pastoralist

Kristi with Susan (middle) and other woman also
named Susan, August 2017

In The Primal Vision, a seminal work on African Christianity, John V Taylor describes the delight and wonder of human relationships in Africa. As he describes the agreeable and amusing account of twelve-year-old Nantume paying him a visit while ironing a shirt in his hut, the reader is mesmerized by the glory and beauty of human interaction and connection. Taylor describes Nantume's curiosity in the hut, coupled with her sense of feeling at home as she leans her body into the wall, "as relaxed as a young antelope asleep in the sun.” Taylor describes how in Africa one can enjoy the presence of another without pressure or feeling hurried or troubled, whether in conversation or in silence. 

I confess that I often struggle with this concept. I feel like I need a purpose when I visit someone. I also feel like there should be conversation when perhaps silence and just being present to one another is the more agreeable option. Taylor describes how in Africa a visitor is never an interruption. In the introduction to Taylor’s book, theologian J.N.K. Mugambi depicts how the interaction between Nantume and Taylor is about presence. Nantume closes her visit with the words “I have seen you.” The primal vision, as Bishop Taylor describes it, is a world of being present to one another, of seeing one another. It is the universe understood in the language of “I and Thou.” While such an encounter between Nantume and Bishop Taylor sounds simple, Mugambi describes it as the core of the Gospel, that even as God encounters us in Jesus Christ, Christian mission should be first and foremost about acknowledging the presence and integrity of others, of 'seeing the other’ as modeled by Jesus in his life on earth (Taylor, 2001).

Recently I enjoyed a long phone conversation with a friend and colleague. Over the course of the call my friend mentioned how he had observed Kristi and I during a recent Zoom call. It was obvious that my friend was present to the moment and present to us, even over Zoom. He then asked an important follow up question from his observation which allowed our relationship to take a deeper turn towards mutual understanding and appreciation. At the end of our conversation, I felt like my friend could have said “I have seen you.” Another colleague, John, described for us an experience he had in Ghana. Being present to the moment and the people around him, he was able to deeply connect with a young woman who was troubled. John spent time with this young woman and spoke words of life, hope, encouragement, and strength to her. At the end of their meeting, truly, John could have said “I have seen you.”

The beauty and glory of the Gospel is that Jesus sees people. In fact, during his pubic ministry here on earth, Jesus chose to see the very persons whom others had overlooked or chose not to see. He saw the ostracized Samaritan woman at the well. He saw Zacchaeus up in a tree. He saw a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath. He connected with each of these persons, offering them in their personhoods dignity and value. 

Jesus sees the Samaritan woman at mid-day
Artist, Jesus Mafa (Cameroon) 

Jesus, unhindered and unhandicapped by self pre-occupation, worry, and the emotional trauma which seemingly perpetually beleaguer us, lived in the moment and was fully present to those around him. I confess that too often I fail to fully live in the moment and be present to others. I pray for growth in this area. I pray that after each meeting with someone, planned or unplanned, I can say, “I have seen you.” May that be so for all of us who attach ourselves to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.