Eyes to See

When I was a student, a member of the faculty made me aware that he knew who I was and that he cared about my ability to understand his lectures. One day when he was introducing a new subject, I must have looked confused. The professor stopped, looked straight at me, and said, ‘You don’t get it, do you, Dickson?’ His comment could have been embarrassing, but he seemed to see that I was lost and needed help to understand the subject.

Jesus said to Simon, the Pharisee, ‘Do you see this woman?’ Simon saw only a sinful person who did not belong at his dinner party; and he assumed that Jesus was a bit dull not to perceive that she was to be ignored.

Often we have eyes that do not see. The story in today’s reading calls us all to see people with whom we interact each day not as stereotypes but as real people with needs, gifts and great possibilities—for that is the way God sees us all. The biblical message is that God—who came in Jesus Christ—sees us, knows us, died for us and cares for us. Our lives can be made new when we respond to God’s redeeming love as our Saviour and Lord.

Prayer: Dear God, give us eyes to see the people around us and hearts to care for them as Christ has loved us. Amen