What do we choose not to see?
Human beings can
be so blind to the reality of life around them.
The prophet Amos decries the casual behavior of the wealthy: Woe to
the complacent in Zion, he says, lying
upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches… Amos has warned them that their community is
about to be destroyed by Assyria, but they pay him no heed; they choose not to
see the reality that will soon bite them, and they thus neglect others, thinking
only of themselves. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus
points to the blindness of the Pharisees with a parable about a rich man who chooses not to see the poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores
and lying at his door. The rich man knows Lazarus’ name, but fails
to see him as a brother in need. Like
the rich man, the Pharisees believe only what it is comfortable for them to believe;
they choose not to see the Messiah in their midst just as they choose not to
recognize the needs of the community they serve.
Fortunately, Psalm 146 offers a corrective to human blindness:
God is praised for securing
justice for the oppressed and giving food
to the hungry as he promises to thwart
the way of the wicked. And it is God’s way we are to
emulate: we must choose to be God’s
instruments of justice, meeting the needs of all as best we can, acting with
virtue and kindness and generosity. Paul
recommends a similar path to Timothy: pursue righteousness, he tells the young
pastor, as well as devotion, faith, love,
patience, and gentleness. Timothy is
to be true to the covenant by keeping the
commandment without stain or reproach, loving God with all that is in him,
and loving his neighbor as himself. Timothy
must choose to see Christ in his neighbor, and serve.
God’s blessings
make it possible for us to bless our neighbor.
We are given gifts, that we might give gifts in turn. But our comfort often blinds us to the need
around us. When we are open to God’s
will, proffering life-giving justice to our neighbor, our actions draw us
closer to God and bring God closer to us.
But we must choose justice, choose to see our neighbor in need, choose to
meet that need, transcending self-centeredness as we choose God’s way, always.
This post is based
on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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