24 April 2015 - scaling up

Horse or not, this is beautiful

I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 

Jesus, we see that you reject no one who comes to you. Even when Saul is still breathing murderous threats you draw him to yourself. You prove your love in that while we are yet sinners yet die for us (cf. Rom. 5:8).

You prepare Saul and call him to yourself through your body. Just as you call the eunuch through Philip you call Saul through Ananias. You prepare the heart of Saul by revealing to him his weakness and his need. You prepare the heart of Ananias to accept in welcome this one whom he perceives to be an enemy. You prepare the hearts of those who are called and you prepare the hearts of those who call.

You want to give us new eyes, LORD. We need your body to stretch out hands to us and pray for us so that the scales may fall from our eyes as well. We need to recognize your presence in our world, in your people, in your word, and in the Sacraments. We imagine that you cannot be present in certain people who are our enemies and who are "breathing murderous threats" but you want to reveal that you love them and even work through them. Even if we're smart and strong you want us to be open to your work through others. You work even through those we don't think have anything to offer us.  You often choose to work through those we think are weaker or not as smart or even not as pious as ourselves. We see that "God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are" (cf. 1 Cor. 1:27-28).

Sometimes you have to knock us to the ground. You take away our imagined ability to see with a flash in the sky. When are eyes are no longer preoccupied a vision of deeper sight impels us to seek you.

in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight.

We need this sight so that we can see you in your body. We need this sight so we can see your Flesh, true food, in the bread you give and your blood, true drink, in the chalice.

Maybe we think we know your presence in the people of the world, in your Church, in your Word, and in the Sacraments. But certainly we often take your presence in each of these for granted. When we do we wind up placing limits on how you can come to us and bless us. We wind up placing limits on how you can work through us to bless the world. You reject no one. Let us in no way reject you so that our hearts can be open to the lost and the broken. When you open our hearts in this way we find ourselves embraced as well. We realize that we too are lost and broken but that you hold us and heal us in your love.