Some loveableness in all of us

There is a difference between requiring love of the neighbor and finding the lovableness of our neighbors. Søren Kierkegaard wrote of this in his Parable of the Two Artists in his book Works of Love

Suppose there were two artists, and one said, "I have travelled much and seen much in the world, but I have sought in vain to find a man worth painting. I have found no face with such perfection of beauty that I could make up my mind to paint it. In every face I have seen one or another little fault. Therefore I seek in vain." Would this indicate the artist was a great artist?

On the other hand, the second one said, "Well, I do not pretend to be a real artist; neither have I travelled foreign lands. But remaining in the little circle of men who are closest to me, I have not found a face so insignificant or so full of faults that I still could not discern a more beautiful side and discover something glorious. Therefore I am happy in the art I practice. It satisfies me without my making any claim to being an artist." Would not this indicate that precisely this one was the artist, who by bringing a certain something with him found then and there what the much-travelled artist did not find anywhere in the world, perhaps because he did not bring a certain something with him! Consequently the second of the two was the artist.

Would it not be sad, too, if what is intended to beautify life could only be a curse upon it, so that art, instead of making life beautiful for us, only fastidiously discovers that not one of us is beautiful. Would it not be sadder still, and still more confusing, if love also should be only a curse because its demand could only make it evident that none of us is worth loving, instead of love's being recognized precisely by its loving enough to be able to find some lovableness in all of us, consequently loving enough to be able to love us all.

Note: The artwork accompanying this entry is the work of Hyatt Moore, who painted The Last Supper with Twelve Tribes, a 10-foot wide canvas giclee print of which graces the entry hall at King of Peace. His work exemplifies Kierkegaard's artist who finds beauty in all people.