The highlight of this past year for my wife and me was the birth of our first grandchild. I love watching her as she takes everything in. She smiles and waves at everyone she sees, whether we’re in a restaurant, on a walk, or at the zoo. She’s a clean slate; all is new for her, with no preconceptions, judgments, or biases. This will inevitably change, but she has a simple and pure view of the world for now, which is a joy to behold.

In Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, the people viewed him as the carpenter’s son. They knew his family and knew he came from humble means. When Jesus returned to Nazareth, despite witnessing his miracles, they had a hard time seeing him differently and even took offense at him.

I’m now 61 years old, with plenty of my own biases firmly established. But last year, I had an experience that challenged me to change how I view people. A friend invited me to play music at a four-day Christian retreat, something I have done a number of times in our parish in Pittsburgh. The difference with this particular retreat was the venue—it was held inside a maximum-security state prison, with 25 inmates participating.

I was apprehensive at first, my mind consumed with wondering what crimes these men may have committed. But as the retreat progressed, I got to know them. They had families, jobs, hopes, and dreams. Near the end of the weekend, the men opened a package of letters from the retreat team. It brought many of them to tears. One man said that these were the first letters he had received in ten years, and he would savor them and open one each month over the next year.

Jesus didn’t judge. He was open-minded and called sinners to be his followers—men like those I met on the retreat. Join me in asking God to help us be more open-minded and less judgmental with the people we meet.