Bouguereau, William: L’Amour Mouille, 1891;
Oil on canvas, 61 1/8 x 33 1/4 inches (155.5 x 84.5 cm), Private collection.
The Angel of Openness
by Anselm Grün
There are many people you can never really get to know, because they are so withdrawn inside themselves. They have put up shields around themselves so that no one can reach them. They have hidden away behind a mask because they are afraid to show their true faces. They don’t want to show themselves because they are afraid of really meeting someone. They are afraid of their own inner truth. The Angel of Openness wants to open you up for the mystery of meeting. You can truly meet someone else only if you are open for her, if you open up your heart and allows the other person to enter yours. The basic model for such an open meeting is for me the meeting between Mary and Elisabeth the way it is related to in the first chapter of Luke. Mary begins her journey then. She leaves her house, her shelter, and she crosses the mountains. She crosses mountains of prejudices that often prevent us from real meetings, and the mountains of inhibitions that keep us locked up within ourselves. And she enters the house of Elisabeth and greets her. She meets her cousin not only outside, but she enters her house and her heart. Both of them are open for each other. And that way the mystery of meeting can happen that transforms both of them, that brings both of them in touch with the original vision that God has of them. In Elisabeth it is her inner child bouncing up and down that reminds her of the unadulterated vision that God had of her. And she recognizes the mother of her Lord in Mary. And Mary recognizes the secret of her life in the hymn of the Magnificat. She realizes that He has seen her in all her lowliness as a maidservant and has done something great unto her. If we meet each other with the kind of openness we have seen in this epitome of a meeting between Mary and Elisabeth, then the meeting will transform us, too, and will open our eyes for the secret of our lives.
The Angel of Openness may open you up for the future, for the plans that God has for you. Some people have devised their lives in a way that they are not open for the new things that He offers them. Everything should stay the way it is. Such persons have become grown stiff and immobile. You should be open for new opportunities that He wants to offer you. New things can only flower within you if you are open for them, if you are not determined by the past, if you are not stuck in the rut of your life. This openness is evident in the willingness to take up new ideas, to learn new ways of dealing with things, to take on new challenges at work, in family, in society again and again. Open people are willing to learn new things for their jobs over and over again, they allow themselves to be introduced to new technologies, they accept new developments. Open people remain vibrant and astute.
Openness in dealing with other persons also means honesty and frankness. Someone who says openly what she thinks, allows others to know how they stand with her. Such people are a blessing. They won’t talk about us behind our backs. In their company we can open up, too. Their candour is good for us. Even if they tell us something unpleasant, we know that they mean well. They don’t hide their reservations and prejudices behind a friendly façade. They show themselves the way they are. They dare to tell us the truth because they feel themselves to be free. They are not dependant on our acceptance. Because they are at peace with themselves, their honesty makes it possible for them to accept it if someone turns away from them because she cannot handle their criticism. The Angel of Openness may give to you such candour and frankness that you may be able to tell others with inner freedom what you really feel inside your heart. Of course such candour needs prudence and sensitivity. You have to feel what you may tell someone and when you would only hurt them unnecessarily. But because you are not absolutely dependant to be popular with everyone, you are free to tell the truth. Look at the angel Gabriel and how he prophesies Mary the birth of her son. Here artists have given form to the Angel of Openness. Here the angel is open for the woman he meets. And with his openness he also opens up Mary for the seemingly impossible. The Angel of Openness may open you up for the mystery of real meetings with other people and for the new opportunities you are trusted with.
© by Anselm Grün, 50 Engel für das Jahr, 1997;
translation by JunoMagic.
Song for December 21:
(Click pic!)
Erwartung (“Expectation”)
by Hans-Jürgen Hufeisen,
album “Gold, Weihrauch und Flöte” (“Gold, Incense and Flute”)