Humanity - Day 17 - Matthew 8:22-25

February 21, 2012 • Leave a Comment

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.

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Keywords: service, Mother Teresa, blind, people, healing, beliefs, hurts, humanity, hope, opportunity, Christianity

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