“But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” Matthew 13
By the time you see me again, I will see you with new eyes. Like so many of you, I will have finished the round of appointments and surgeries to replace the lens in my eyes, damaged by age and medications. When a decade ago I asked the endodontist why I needed dental implants, he snorted. “You outlived evolution. Those original teeth weren’t designed to last more than about forty years.” How reassuring.
Fortunately, we live in a time when new parts are available after the warranty expires on the original. According to the Medical Library of Congress, a staggering 310 million major surgeries are performed globally each year; around 40 to 50 million in the USA and 20 million in Europe. In the USA, nearly 70% of people take prescription medications.
Despite these major advances in the miracles of modern medicine, Jesus wanted us to understand that we see not only through the eyes of our heads but also through the eyes of our hearts. He often observed how blind people can be, who have 20/20 vision. And he invited us to pray for God to open our eyes to see and our ears to hear how God works in and through us to participate in God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven.
By now I expect to see colors and road signs much more clearly than when we last reflected together. As much as I have longed for sharper focus in the external world, so too I continually pray for eyes of faith to see the world as God sees it, full of hope and love and light at every turn.
Prayer: God of love and light, open my eyes that I may see, glimpses of truth you have for me, open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine. Amen
God’s grace, mercy, and peace be with you,
Rev. Dr. Anna V. Copeland
Senior Minister, The Community Church of Vero Beach, Florida
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