The Real Word:
The Eyes of Our Hearts
by Jacki Popadich
Luke 24:13-35
Adjusting Our Vision
I first read The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, my
senior year of high school. Yeah, yeah, it's a kids' book, I know. Since
then, I bought my own copy (English translation) and I read it once a
year. The lessons there for us would astound you.
In one episode of the book, the Little Prince tames and befriends a fox.
Eventually, the two must part ways. "'Good-bye,' says the fox. 'Here
is my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly with the heart. Anything
essential is invisible to the eyes.'"
There you have it -- the secret to life. One sees clearly with the heart.
And if that's the secret to life, then I definitely need glasses!
I can't even put a number on all the times that I have tried to see things
with my eyes, only to remain clueless because I couldn't see the truth
with my heart. In that way, I’m not too different from the disciples
in Luke's Gospel.
"And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented
from recognizing him." (Luke 24:15-16)
They
Wouldn't Know The Truth If It Bit Them On The Face
The two disciples who were traveling the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus
were so engrossed in a conversation about the recent Resurrection that
they didn't recognize the man who joined them and took part in their conversation.
What the disciples didn’t see is that this man is Jesus Christ.
As their discussion continued, Jesus began to open the Scriptures to teach
the two disciples. The man they called "Rabbi" and "Teacher"
not that long before was right there with them, teaching them. And they
still didn't recognize Him!
Something must have opened their hearts, though, and they invited Jesus
to join them that night. It wasn't until Jesus blessed, broke and gave
bread to them that “their eyes were open and they recognized Him.”
Life Through Christ-Colored Glasses
Just like those disciples, we all sometimes fail to see Jesus in our lives
because we are too busy looking with our eyes. There are so many ways
that He is present to us, but some of these ways require us to readjust
our vision of Christ and look with our hearts.
Got your glasses on now? Good. Look around. Where do you see Christ?
1. Christ is also there with us when we
are together, gathered in His name.
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20)
2. He is also there in the poor, the hungry,
the sick, and the imprisoned.
“And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you,
whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for
me.'” (Matthew 25:40)
3. Christ is one with the Father and the
Holy Spirit. God is love and the source of love. Because of that, Jesus
is present in the love that we show to others, and in the love that they
show to us in return.
"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone
who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does
not know God, for God is love." (1 John 4:7-8)
4. He's uniquely present in the Eucharist,
when the bread and wine become His body and blood.
“In the most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body
and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ
and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.’
‘This presence is called “real” ... because it is presence
in the fullest sense.’” (CCC
1374)
Pretty amazing isn't it? Christ is in different places where we often
fail to look! That's why the challenge of seeing him at work in our lives
is to remember to look with our hearts, and not with our eyes.
Jesus Christ, Optometrist
When the Little Prince returned to planet B-612, he took with him the
lesson that the fox had given him. The disciples also learned to look
with their hearts after their experience with Jesus on the Road to Emmaus.
What about you? Are you able to see clearly with your heart and not rely
solely on your eyes? If not, perhaps it's time to make your appointment
with Jesus Christ, Optometrist!
Reflection:
Do you have any stories that you go back to over and over again? What
do you take away from them?
In what ways do you experience the presence of Christ in your life?
Have you ever had a time when you couldn't see the truth because you could
only see what was in front of you?
FAITHteen Home | FAITHteen
Issue #8 | About
FAITHteen | FAITH
Magazine