Henri Nouwen told the story of a student who, many years after graduation, returned to sit in his old professor's office where so many questions had been answered and so many problems had been solved. When the student entered he told his professor that he didn't need anything, he came just to visit, to be together. They sat for a while in silence and looked at each other. One broke the silence by telling the other how nice it was to see each other. The other agreed, and then there was silence. Then the student said, "When I look at you it is as if I am in the presence of Christ." The professor remembers that did not startle or surprise him and that he could only respond with, "It is the Christ in you who recognizes the Christ in me." The student replied with the most healing words Nouwen had heard in many years. "Yes, Christ indeed is in our midst. From now on, wherever you go, or wherever I go, all the ground between us will be holy ground."

Our culture puts such an emphasis on productivity on doing things, solving problems, making plans, producing products that two things have happened. In many cases, those who do not solve or plan or produce are looked upon as second class citizens. And secondly, the idea of getting together just for the sake of being together is so foreign that when we do come together we often fail to see the Christ in one another because of this uneasy feeling that we ought to be doing something.