To See As God Sees
I was riding on the train once when a man wearing a sando and dirty jeans boarded the train. Immediately I looked at him with suspicion, especially when he sat beside me. All the time I kept on feeling for my wallet to make sure it was still there. While I was busy condemning the man and casting suspicions in my thoughts, he suddenly stood up and offered his seat to a lady passenger. It was a slap on my face, needless to say. I never expected someone who looked like him to do something so gentlemanly.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus went up to Jerusalem and a question on whether He was the Messiah arose. People rejected Him for the reason that they knew where He came from. He could not be the Messiah, they said, for they knew His origins. It was like they were saying, “He cannot be the Messiah. Look at him. He looks so ordinary. He’s wearing the clothes of a carpenter. He hails from Nazareth. Nothing good comes from that place.”
Prejudice and self-righteous judgment prevented them from seeing the Messiah in Jesus. Their prejudice prevented them from putting their faith in Him. Isn’t it true that prejudice and judgment also prevent us from giving the respect and dignity inherent in every person? Aren’t prejudice and judgment the root cause of many conflicts? Prejudice blocks us from seeing through a person, from appreciating the truth beyond the externals.
It’s a good thing God does not see the way we do. We read in 1 Samuel 16:7, “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature... Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” When God looks at us, He does not see differences in color, appearance or cultural background. He looks into the heart, because He also looks with the heart.
Let us ask the Lord for that grace. The grace to look and appreciate people beyond the limits that appearance, culture and geographical differences impose.Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTION: Do people’s appearance, color, culture and status in life affect the way you treat them?
Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to look beyond the externals. Help me to always see through the heart, with my heart.
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