"FINDING EYES TO SEE"

 “FINDING EYES TO SEE” 

I wrote last week about the metaphor of “having eyes to see” and what a gift it is to be able to see realities and patterns that often are blocked from our vision.  As I think of this, the story of Saul (who became Paul) on the road to Damascus comes to my mind (and sight) in Acts 8.  As he goes to Damascus to arrest followers of Jesus (yes, he still has not been able to “see” the risen Jesus), the Lord’s Spirit strikes him, and he loses his literal (and spiritual) vision.   He is taken to Damascus, and there a trembling follower of  the risen Jesus comes to him (as instructed by the Spirit).  Ananias tells Paul who he is, then touches him, and the “scales fall from Paul’s eyes.”  He then becomes the most famous follower of the risen Jesus.

I always wonder about the Biblical metaphors of sight – not using it, losing it, and regaining it.  The Biblical approach is that most of us do not “have eyes to see,” that our perceptual apparatus is captured by the systems of domination and power that make us see others as less than human.  I certainly have been (and continue to be) captured by those systems, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, materialism, and many others.  But, I do have my eyes opened on occasion, and I am grateful for the intervention of God’s Spirit when that happens.  

As we think about how we begin to “have eyes to see,” it is important to remember a couple of points.  First, it is helpful to put ourselves into new places and people who can challenge us and widen our views of others and of ourselves.  In saying this, I am not speaking of the idea of everybody’s opinion being the same, that all truths are relative.  Rather I am speaking of being open to hearing a new and different story, a story that will likely widen our vision, but if it is truthful, it will be a story that challenges our point of view.  The acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie made a famous Ted Talk on this – here is the link to it, if you have not seen it

https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en

Caroline any my kids will tell you that I am notoriously conservative in my approach to life.  Early on in our marriage, Caroline developed the “Three Day Rule,” especially in our ministry together.  When she would bring new ideas to me, I would almost always say “No”.  So, she told me one day that we were adopting the “Three Day Rule” in our marriage – when she brought a new idea or project for discussion, I could not say “No” for three days.  After I had thought about it for three days, then we could discuss it!  And, it largely worked.

The second point about finding eyes to see is the importance of seeking to be open to new voices.  My long tenure as pastor at Oakhurst Presbyterian taught me that -  the multicultural nature of the church kept calling me out of my provincial self with a single story.  That community asked me to see different worlds, different realities – and to see myself in a new way, to have eyes to see.  The community becomes such an important part of helping each of us and all of us to find eyes to see.  Without Ananias coming to Saul to heal him, we would not likely have the New Testament in the form that we have it, and it would have taken a long time for the “country” gospel of Jesus of Nazareth to make it to the cities.  Paul found eyes to see, and the urban church was born.  Let us all pray and be open to those kinds of interventions, so that we, too, may “have eyes to see.”