Humanity
He sits on the
corner
With a blanket
and pan
Silently, crying
out
A lost and lonely
man
Stone towers walk
by
Hearts as hard as
a rock
Unable to
sympathize
Humanity is
blocked
I sit at a
distance
And watch what I
see
Pondering the
empathy
Welling up,
within me
A beggar am I,
when
No different than
he
Silently, we cry
out
Why can’t anyone
see?
Misplaced,
isolated
Whether wealthy
or poor
Compassion walks
by
People close
their heart’s door
But dignity sees
public
With a tear in
the eye
And a hand
expanded
To those passing
by
Most of humanity
has become like this poem. We race past people who are hurt, lonely, and isolated or we are the hurt,
lonely, or isolated people longing to be helped.
Regardless of which, we need one another and we need Jesus' healing touch.
The Bible tells
us about a blind man who approaches Jesus and asks for healing. Jesus spits
on his hands and wipes the man’s eyes, then asks him the question, “What do you
see?” The man replies, “I see people,
they look like trees walking around.” We are no different. We come to Jesus and ask for healing, he
touches us, but, more often than not, we race off neglecting Jesus and the
opportunity for him to finish his work. We are
better but we are not healed.
Continuing the story, Matthew chapter
8, verses 22 through 25 tell us after the blind man’s response, Jesus took his
hands and touched the man’s eyes a second time and asked the question again,
“What do you see?” This time the man’s
sight was restored and he saw everything clearly, he saw people walking around
as people.
What's the point? Our time with
Jesus can’t be rushed because we desperately need him, and people desperately need us to see them
clearly. To see them as Jesus sees
them. Maybe, for the first time we need
to see a family member who feels lonely and isolated, our neighbor who is shut-in,
forgotten by loved ones, or a rebellious teen-age son who feels neglected and
pressured by the world around him. Or, maybe you are waiting to be noticed because you are in need of someone to reach out and help you.
Mother
Teresa sums it up this way … “You and I, we are the Church, no? We have to
share with our people. Suffering today
is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing. Jesus made it very clear. Whatever you do to
the least of my brethren, you do it to me.
Give a glass of water, you give it to me. Receive a little child, you
receive me...”
So here's the thought demanding our time and attention: People are hurting and every day has
opportunity for us to share with people but do we clearly see the people and
the opportunity to be Jesus?
All Rights Reserved. 2012. Text and Images may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the author or photographer, Mary Armstrong.