By Kristin Molitor

 

 

I’ve been a lifelong lover of Jesus, and yet on more days than I’d care to admit, I lose sight of Him by focusing more on the next thing instead of His loving presence in the present.

Most of us live life in the fast lane. We can multitask like it’s nobody’s business, and our ability to juggle the responsibilities of work and family can put even the most accomplished acrobat to shame.

We have a tremendous ability to squeeze a lot into our schedules. Our life is full, but if we’re honest, we are not fully living. We’re surviving instead of thriving. We’re running fast and yet not really moving forward. We are losing sight of Jesus.

 

“He saw a man blind from birth.”

The blind man in today’s Gospel reading could not see Jesus. Nor could he see that Jesus saw him. He was unaware that the Eyes of Love were resting upon Him. 

But when he took a chance to rest beneath the gaze he could not see, his life was forever changed. He could finally see.

Imagine the joy and delight when this man beheld the beautiful blue sky for the very first time. Imagine the tears that fell from his restored eyes when they rested upon his mother’s face. Imagine how his heart jumped when he finally saw his father’s proud smile – the smile his heart ached for, the smile that had been hidden from him for so many years.

The day the blind man received his sight was a day he would never forget. Not only did he see the beauty of creation, but he also beheld the beauty of Jesus. And he worshipped.

 

He Sees Us

In our day to day busyness, we lose sight of Jesus. We can’t see Him because our gaze is fixed on the next thing. When we can’t see Jesus, we can’t see Him seeing us. It’s his presence that assures us, but it’s his gaze that transforms us.  

Jesus sees you, and like the man born blind, He pauses before you, too. While your gaze is focused on the next thing, His gaze is focused on you. He studies you. He knows you. You are His work of art and He longs to free you from all that weighs you down.

What would happen if we set aside our “to-do” lists long enough to rest under His gaze? What would happen if we closed our eyes to the chaos of the world so we could focus on Jesus? How would our lives be different if we never lost sight of Him?

Jesus wants us to see life more clearly, but we only see life more clearly when we see Him. His face is lovely and it’s worth beholding. And as we look into His loving eyes, we discover that amid the whirlwind of daily life, we are seen, known, and cherished.

 

“I was blind and now I see.”

When we pause to gaze upon the face of Jesus in prayer, we begin to see Him everywhere. Our lives take on new meaning and purpose as we behold His face in our spouse, children, coworkers, and strangers.

Every face becomes the face of Christ. Every face is lovely. Every face is worth a pause. Every face is worth seeing.

When we rest under the gaze of Jesus, we become His gaze of love for others – His gaze through our gaze enabling people to see Him.

Let’s take a break from always looking towards the “next thing” and let’s look instead into the gaze of Jesus. Let’s rest there for a while and allow His gaze to open the eyes of our hearts so we can see Him more clearly and be His eyes of love for others.

 

About the author:

Kristin Molitor currently serves as the New Evangelization Coordinator for the central Minnesota catholic parishes of Bowlus, Holdingford, and St. Anna.