EYES TO SEE…

 
          Yes, I know the observation of St Paul (I Corinthians 1:26-31) that God chooses the weak and foolish to shame the wise and strong.   But why?  
 
          Why were outcast shepherds and foreign astrologers able to see and understand, while Herod and the priestly class of Jerusalem could not?  Why not both?
 
          Someone in charge of the caravansary in Bethlehem told Mary and Joseph there was no room for them; someone else did find a place for the birth of their child.  What did one person not see that another person did?  Why not both?
 
          Eyes that see are, I guess, the difference—but eyes that see must be attuned to what they are looking for.  Perhaps those eyes are only in the ones who truly longed for the coming of the Messiah; perhaps only those who know their need for a Savior can look clearly enough to see when He is near.
 
          Just another baby born into poverty?  Herod wanted to think so, but he was too self-absorbed and paranoid to believe it, so he ordered a slaughter.  Shepherds, on the other hand, returned to their flocks glorifying God’s mercy.  Ironically, Herod and the priestly class probably needed that mercy more than the shepherds…
 
          “He drove out my demons”… “He restored my speech and hearing”… “He forgave my sins.”  That’s one experience that leads to the expression of sight and gratitude.  What is the opposite reaction?  “By the prince of demons he casts out demons.”  I think one summary of the difference in these attitudes could be expressed by the words love & gratitude on the one hand, and resentment on the other (go back to re-read Luke 7:36-50 again, or Luke 19:1-9).  Those who are self-righteous have no need to express gratitude since they have managed everything by themselves, on their own terms.  But those who are poor in spirit, who know their need for God, know no end of thanks-giving.  [Footnote:   I’d like to think that the woman in Luke 7 is the same as the woman in Jn 7:53—8:11; you decide.]
 
          I come back to the great insight of the Fox in The Little Prince— “It is only with the heart that one sees rightly.   What is essential is invisible to the eye.”  As these last days before Christmas are upon us, let’s really try to see with the heart.   We might well find our Lord in places we never imagined—maybe even in our own brokenness and hurt and need.   The Messiah came for us, too.