Jesus in Disguise

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…”

-       2 Cor. 5:16-18

Let’s keep thinking today about having eyes to see.  Yesterday we read how Simeon spent years waiting to see the Messiah, the one God would send to save God’s people.  He spent years peering into every new face with wonder, looking for traces of the imago Dei, the image of God…  Learning to look with hope prepared him to recognize the Messiah in just a tiny baby.  And perhaps over time it also trained him to see God’s handiwork in ordinary people like you and me.

Mother Teresa describes this new way of seeing ordinary, messy people like this: “Each one of them in Jesus in disguise.”  Would you sit with Jesus for a few minutes this morning and let the the names and faces of people you love - and even people you struggle with – flow into that safe space?  Ask Jesus to help you see them with eyes of hope, ready to notice God’s work in their lives.