Day 35 - 40 Days of Prayer - Steve Shussett 

We live in an amazing time.  Forty years after the first human circled the earth in outer space, we now have telescopes even farther out than he was, telescopes so powerful that our eyes can see stars millions of miles away, hundreds of light year ago, stars being born millions of years in the past.  It has been said that if technology one day permits us to see back far enough, we would even see God. We can look into a single cell and watch it divide—the building blocks of life—or watch the energy of an electron—the very building blocks of existence.                                                                                                                                        

These are remarkable things, amazing and astonishing.  But as limitless as the technology appears, it is in truth quite bounded.  These eyes peering in and peering out can only see what is or what was.  They cannot tell us what can be, what will be.  Such eyes can only see God by looking backward. As insulting as it is, there is a common condition of the eye called “presbyopia.” in which the lens of the eye loses flexibility, and the person loses the ability to focus on close objects. How true of us is this? On the road to Emmaus, Jesus could not have been closer, but the disciples eyes were kept from recognizing him. We know our story well, so close to it as we are. But knowing the story of what was does not mean to know the reality of what is.

Like the disciples still struggling with Jesus’ death, ours are eyes that have seen so much: But it is in trusting that Christ is with us that our eyes are opened to see that he is always with us, in all things, to the end of the age. It is vision such as this that looks beyond surface realities to the deep hope that exists even when we can’t see it—in fact especially when we can’t see it—to know that God is good even when life is hard. Faith is indeed the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Telescopes are so powerful that we can read a belt buckle from outer space, see a candle flickering on the moon.  But as much as the world may ooh and ahh, Easter Eyes surpass even this vision, and even more, give us a whole new way of seeing, that in the world around us we see the power of God in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to know that death and tragedy and conflict do not, and will not have the last word, for it is God who has the final amen.  Not just for us, but for the world, not just for peace, but also justice.

Yes, our eyes of faith are tested.  The world, our lives, are difficult and full of challenge and pain and loss.  When things are not as we wish, we can circle the wagons, constrain and confine our vision, harden into presbyoptic inflexibility.

But with the spectacles of the Holy Spirit, our Easter Eyes are opened beyond the was to what is and what will be. The graveyard is now a garden, good news is brought to the poor, release is proclaimed to the captive, the oppressed go free.

And we, so often blind of heart, even we are blessed to see.

To God be the glory. Amen.
 
Steve Shussett
Teaching Presbyter
Lehigh Presbytery