Seeing Eye Hearts
A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli at St. Matthew’s UMC June 5, 2011, Ascension Sunday.
Texts: Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:44-53
When you woke up this morning, what did you see? I saw my bedroom, piles of things I haven’t gotten organized yet since the move into the new house, Anthony, my cat. As we awaken each day and shuffle into the kitchen to prepare our tea or coffee, what else do we see? Maybe like me you see piles of paper that need attention, chores that need to be done, calls that need to be returned, a calendar full of lists and appointments and deadlines. Some of us also see our daily regimen of pills lined up and waiting to be consumed. Some may have a habit of watching the news or reading the paper each morning. And we all know what we see when we look at those things.
More important than what we see, however, is the question of how we see. And I don’t mean whether we put on glasses or contacts. How do we see? The way that we take in and process the things that we see in our lives is affected by many things: our life experience, how our bodies feel, our learned patterns of reaction and response, our education, where we live—just to name a few. My teachers in seminary spoke of this complex of factors as a “lens” through which we see and interpret our lives. And so the question for us is, through what lens do we see the world?
Unfortunately, it is not only possible, but common, for human beings to see life through the lenses of cynicism, prejudice, hopelessness, selfishness, and fear. From this point of view, the things we see when we get up every day take on a particular shape and color; the rain is an annoyance, the tasks become burdens, the pills become signs of our weakness, the headlines confirm our belief that the world is hopelessly broken and that people—especially certain people—are downright evil. And for some, whose lenses are inordinately weighted with selfishness, even family, friends, and natural resources are seen as objects to be used or abused in order to get what they want.
For most of us, though, the lens through which we see the world is multifaceted and changeable, a mixture of hope and despair, trust and cynicism, resentment and love. And I would guess that among our most common tendencies in this modern, western world is to forget, in our busy-ness, that there is more to what we see than meets the eye. In other words, what is visible through the complex mechanism of physical sight is wildly limited, is only a fraction of what is really there. There are spiritual realities, invisible to the eye, but real and more powerful than we know.
I am one of those people who really gets bummed out with the lack of sunlight and so when it is cloudy for days in a row, it’s easy for me to forget that the sun is shining, bright as ever, just above those clouds. The light is just as real, just as true, even though I can’t see it. Spiritual realities are like that. They are just as real and true as what is easily visible to the naked eye. But what we see so often gets the better of us.
Today, we hear Paul pray for the church, that we be given a spirit of wisdom and revelation as we come to know God and that “the eyes of our heart” be enlightened. In other words, Paul is praying that the lens through which we see the world be the lens of faith, the lens of love, the lens that is especially attuned to the invisible, spiritual realities of our lives. This means, in part, that we remember that even though we can’t see Jesus, Jesus is alive and active in our lives and in the world. Jesus Christ has ascended, is seated at the right hand of God, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. Even though it may not be apparent to the naked eye, the Gospel proclaims that Jesus Christ is the ruler of the universe—not the United States, not multi-national corporations or big business, not any earthly power or ruler.
To see the world through the lens of faith also means that all those things that we see in the course of our day take on a different quality: the piles, the pills, the joys, the tasks, the drudgery, the loneliness, the relationships—all these things become tinted with hope, with possibility, with lessons and messages from which we can learn and grow. All the things and experiences of the visible world are put in perspective when we hold them in the light of Christ.
Every so often, Pat Clark will arrive on a Sunday morning with a dog she is training as a seeing-eye dog. It is an amazing relationship between one who is blind and their guide. The dog requires careful, intentional, and loving training in order to keep their human safe—to be a faithful guide. In essence, this is what Paul encourages us to do with our hearts—to carefully, intentionally, and lovingly train our hearts to “see” the light of Christ—even when clouds and circumstances make it difficult for us to find our way forward. Seeing-eye hearts—that’s the goal. Through regular worship, daily devotions, Bible Study, acts of service and care, prayer, and all the means of grace you open up space for God to train your heart to be a good guide—you allow God to enlighten the eyes of your heart.
With enlightened hearts as the lens through which we see, our very lives are also put in perspective. We see our lives both as relatively small and also as wildly empowered. Because when we see our lives as part of God’s universe, we cannot help but be humbled, reminded that our issues and anxieties and struggles and joys and successes are but the tiniest sliver of human experience not only in this age but also from eternity. And yet, at the same time, when you gaze upon your life with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you also recognize that as small as you are in the big scheme of things, the God of all eternity has given everything for YOU. You are chosen, you are loved, you are given power from on high. To see your life through the lens of faith is the ultimate reality check. You realize that you’re not “all that,” but that you’re more than you ever imagined. Isn’t it just like God to hand us a pair of glasses like that??
The first disciples had a choice to make. The reality of the situation was that Jesus died, rose from the dead, appeared to them over fifty days, and then left again. They could have chosen to believe that Jesus had abandoned them or just disappeared or disintegrated into nothingness. But instead, these first witnesses to the person of Jesus Christ describe seeing Jesus “carried up into heaven.” They were seeing with the eyes of faith. And what they saw was the glory and power of Jesus raised “above every name that is named.” (Eph. 1.21) The first disciples of Jesus saw him ascend, saw him become the ruler of their lives, the One through whom they understood not only the cosmos, but their own lives’ meaning. And this allowed them to be powerful witnesses to Christ, to love and heal and teach in amazing ways, to be led into places and ministries they couldn’t have imagined. They saw Christ as the source of life, the source of power, the source of a love that could withstand any circumstance. What they saw as Jesus left them, in terms of the known laws of physics, biology, and other so-called natural laws, is much less important than how they saw.
Are you guided by a seeing-eye heart? Do you see through the lens of faith? This is the question before us every day of our lives. Today, perhaps you can re-commit to praying each morning that not only your eyes, but more importantly your heart be opened, awakened to the truth that Christ whose name is above every name, whose power is far above any other, loves you and gives you the power to hope, to see, to believe, to trust, to live with joy. Christ loves us not with a love that is blind, but with a love that is visionary—and Christ gives us the power to love in the same way. Real love, visionary love, sees what is invisible to the naked eye; real love sees the opportunity in the challenge, the possibility in the circumstance, the hope, the good, the promise; real, visionary love, sees Christ in all things.
When you wake up in the morning and look out upon your life and upon your world, how do you see? Look with the eyes of faith and see what is really there. And give thanks.
