Recognize what is in your sight, and what is hidden will become clear to you.
– Jesus, the Gospel of Thomas
I will admit. Sometimes I just do not get what Jesus is trying to say.
But what I do get is that he is challenging us to see things in a new way. A new way which is beautiful. A new way that we never considered before. A new way that might turn our current world upside down but for the better.
If I recognize what is in my sight, what is hidden will now be clear to me. Perhaps he is challenging me to be more present to what is right in front of me.
If I am in a room with my kids and watching tv or reading, perhaps he is inviting me to take some time to stop focusing on the tv show or book and focus on them. Talk to them. Ask them questions. Joke around with them. Play a game with them. Listen to them. Hug them. Love them. What will they teach me? What will it teach them?
I am at work. I am in a meeting with my boss and his staff. He asks for a volunteer for an assignment. We are all very busy and remain silent. He can hear birds chirping. Perhaps Jesus wants me to volunteer. By volunteering, something new will become clear to me. I will gain a new experience. A new door will open for me. A potential new job opportunity might become available. I will learn new skill sets. I will never know until I volunteer.
What is it that you fear? Perhaps Jesus is inviting you to try it. When you do it, a new world will open up to you. It will no longer be hidden.
Perhaps Jesus is challenging us to simply love others. Take a chance. Talk to a stranger. Help a stranger. It will open up a new world to both you and the stranger.
Jesus, I pray that each day that as I perform my different tasks – work, family, church, personal, volunteer, etc, that I am present to what it is that you want me to be. I have an agenda but perhaps you have a better one. Help me be more present and open to what it is that you want for me so that it is no longer hidden.
Amen.
