If you don't see others, it is certain that you won't welcome them.

Today's gospel, Matthew 10:40-42, makes me think about the way our vision of others affects our ability to "welcome" them. You can't respond to something or someone you don't see.


I rely upon vision correction.

Although my naked eye can read the finest print, I can't accurately see anything or anyone more than 15 feet from my nose. Without contacts or glasses, I have an imperfect view of what or who is approaching me. I don't recognize or acknowledge people in the distance, and my understanding of what is really happening is (sometimes dangerously) challenged.

A couple of weeks ago I bought my first pair of prescription sunglasses. Between the dry eye syndrome of age and the outcropping of pollen in the air, my contact lenses just aren't as effective as they used to be. So now I have an alternative for these sunny summer days. When the contacts give out on me I can pop them out and and whip on my new sunglasses. I wonder now, why did I wait so long?


Back to the gospel...

When you encounter the unknown other, whom do you see?  What qualities claim your attention?  Especially if you are out of your element or if the other is entering your private space, your protective instincts may make it difficult for you to receive the other as an invitation from God to love and serve (in spite of unfamiliarity. )

It is about vision.  It is about seeing all that is there as God sees it.  Most of us need the corrective lens of prayer to accomplish that.  All too often our emotions and our thoughts dim or blur our perception of what is happening.  A glorious opportunity may be ignored or discounted because we don't see it accurately.

When we look prayerfully at all that is around us, the God lens corrects our perception and enables us to pay attention to possibilities that would be otherwise missed. 

If you don't see others, it is certain that you won't welcome them.