April 15/Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
But Peter looked intently at [the crippled man], as did John, and said, “Look at us.” ~ Acts 3.4
Look to the LORD in his strength. ~ Ps 105.4
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him. ~ Luke 24.31
Contact lenses for the myopic, reading glasses for the presbyopic (those with aging eyes, for you young people!), LASIK and other surgeries for those with deficient sight — there is a host of ways for us to correct our physical vision. Pity, then, that there are no human tools to correct the distortions in what our souls see. Too often, we fail to take in the truths that are right in front of us, because we are viewing reality through the lens of our own ego. Too often, our petty concerns, opinions, experiences, and beliefs shape what we see. Most of us take for granted that reality is what we see, never realizing that what we see is merely our reality. As the British mystic Evelyn Underhill observed, “It is notorious that the operations of the average human consciousness unite the self, not with things as they really are, but with images, notions, aspects of things.” Throughout today’s scripture readings, we are encouraged to look carefully and with eyes of love at the world around us. Peter and John gazed intently at the crippled man, and bade him do likewise: “Look at us,” they said — and the man did, and the man was healed. The psalmist exhorts us to “look to the LORD in his strength.” And of course, the disciples whom Jesus accompanied on the road to Emmaus were so caught up in their own grief and disappointment that they failed to see Christ who walked with them, until they recognized him in the breaking of the bread. If we are truly to apprehend the truth in its elusive mystery, we must look with the eyes of the heart. And then, even in our own disappointment and grief, we will truly see God present among us.
Wise and all-knowing LORD, Open my eyes that I may see your truth in the world around me. Amen.
To hear the choir of Norwich Cathedral sing “Come, Risen Lord, and Deign to be Our Guest,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jri1qoDfdzc
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041520.cfm
