Can You See Jesus?

 

[Jesus said] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:31-40 ESV).

The Jesus Optical Illusion (attached here) is a popular afterimage illusion.  Stare at the dots in the center of this image for approximately 60 seconds.  When the time is up, quickly close your eyes and look at a bright light source (like a lamp).  Alternatively, you can also look at a blank wall.   You should see a white circle with an image inside of Jesus. Give it a try!

 

At first glance it looks nothing like what we have come to recognize as Jesus. It is more of a group of odd shapes that make little sense. I am reminded when I see this little illusion that Jesus can be with us even when we don’t see him.

 

One of the wonderful memories I have in my life comes from my experience in Alaska. A group of men and I traveled to a small Inuit village on the tundra to help build a church and parsonage. It was a wonderful week of hard work that was enormously satisfying. One particular experience stands out for me. While the weather was a bit uncooperative most of the week with temperatures in the 50’s and off and on drizzle, one day the sun did shine and the children of the village came to our worksite. They approached us with small pails full of Arctic Tundra Berries. These blue berries grew wild on the surface of the tundra and were a tasty treat for the people there. They were kind enough to offer us some of their harvest. I must admit they were very tart. However, their kind gesture touched me deeply.

 

Isn’t that exactly what Jesus meant in our reading today? I think we all could do a better jib of seeing Jesus in the faces of the people we meet along our journey, even when their customs and beliefs are quite different than ours!