On Appreciation as Holy
What Mister Rogers and Henri Nouwen teach us about love
Today marks the end of our You Are Special series.
Over the past six weeks, we’ve reflected on the lives of Fred Rogers and Henri Nouwen– how they lived as salt and light by honoring and loving their neighbors deeply and faithfully.
As we see on the final page of this series, the two men shared a friendship marked by warmth and endurance. After Henri’s passing, Fred carried with him a small wooden cross crafted from the wood of Henri’s coffin.
The series closes with Mister Rogers’ most familiar message, one both he and Nouwen lived out not just in words, but in daily action:
“You are a very special person, there is only one like you in the world. There’s never been anyone exactly like you before, and there never will be again.”
That message reflects a truth Fred once shared during a commencement address at Middlebury College:
“I believe that appreciation is a holy thing—that when we look for what’s best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does; so in appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something truly sacred.”
I cannot help but be reminded of the Scripture;
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.… And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” - 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3, 13
Lord willing, we are all salt and light for the kingdom in our vocations, in the mundane, and in the momentous. But we could be the most gifted, the most eloquent, the most faithful of Christ followers, and if we do not love—if we do not see and celebrate the image of God in our neighbor—we gain nothing.
Fred Rogers and Henri Nouwen remind us of a simple, courageous truth:
The greatest of these is love.
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Thank you, Libby, for this lovely and enlightening series! I never knew about the friendship between Fred Rogers and Henri Nouwen. The quotes and insights were wonderful, well written, and a perfect size for taking in this faith-encouraging story.