Visionary

Last week a dear friend of mine and of many, Betty Adams, passed away. Her funeral was on Monday and it was as beautiful as she was. In giving the homily the Reverend Neely Towe reminded us all of Betty's great gift, the gift of vision. And so in honor of Betty I put a pair of glasses in my box today.

One of the experiences that almost anyone who has ever worn glasses has had is the memory of getting that first pair and realizing that we weren't really seeing the world clearly. In an instant shapes become letters and words, green blurs separate into leaves on a tree and the details of life jump into focus. I am not sure that vision is appreciated as much by those who have never had it impaired, but being able to see God's creation is a wonderful thing.

Contemporaries of Jesus must have thought his disciples a ragtag group. They probably thought he was blind to choose the type of companions he did. Instead of  teachers Jesus chose those without education, instead of temple leaders Jesus chose fishermen and instead of those who seemed to live a righteous life Jesus chose tax collector and prostitutes. He saw these men and women not for what they were on the outside, but for what they could be, and over time they became the vision he had of them. Jesus said "Blessed are you. Simon, son of Jonah!...You are Peter. On this rock I will build my church." (Matthew 16:17) and Simon Peter did become the rock and foundation of the church.

We all have been given gifts and talents. Betty was a true visionary. She saw the world and everything in it not as we really were, but as what God called us to be. She was able to look into our hearts and see the best in us and we worked to become exactly what she saw.

Take some time to develop the gift of vision. Christ lives in the hearts of our children, in the hearts of those with whom we work and with whom we worship and in the hearts of strangers we meet during our day. Put your glasses on. Be a visionary. Seek to see the world Christ wants it to be.