It was said that Joseph and Mary “marveled” at the things that were said about their baby boy Jesus when they took him to the temple to be dedicated. Marvel is a fancy word for wonder . . . so, Joseph and Mary wondered about everything they were hearing about their baby. They ran into an old man named Simeon who made a big whoopee do about the child. Old Simeon said: “. . . my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
They also ran into an old woman named Anna, a prophet according to the people, who made a big deal out of the baby Jesus. Upon seeing the child “. . . she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”
Hearing all that highfalutin praise about their child, it was no wonder that the parents of Jesus were marveling about what was being said. In their minds he was their boy . . . sure, they knew he was special, but they never thought of him as being some sort of a savior for the masses. He was a kid. Nothing more, nothing less . . . just like every other kid. And, now, in the midst of dedicating their child to God . . . well, they were hearing things they had not even considered. It had to be a little overwhelming . . . a little awe-inspiring. Of course, as time went on and the child grew, Joseph and Mary could see that there was something special about their kid . . . the writer of the Gospel of Luke tells us: “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.”
What do you see? This is the basis of the Rorschach Test. The person administering the test shows someone an inkblot picture and asks, “What do you see?” The person answers, the test administrator writes down the answer, and later goes back and analyzes the answers to see if there is a pattern that might help determine the person’s psychological state. There are no right or wrong answers to the question of what is seen in the inkblots . . . it is what it is. What is seen is seen in the eyes of the beholder.
We all see differently.
One of my favorite Harry Chapin songs is Flowers Are Red. The song is about a little boy heading off to his first day of school as a kindergartner. Upon arriving at school, the teacher gives him a piece of paper and tells him to color. The kid puts all sorts of colors on the paper as he is drawing flowers. Seeing this the teacher asks the boy what he is doing. “Painting flowers,” he says. Quickly the teacher corrects him . . . tells him he has it all wrong. Tells him that flowers are green and red and there is no other way to see flowers. Of course, that kills the spirit in the kid, and he struggles through school.
Eventually the boy’s family moves to a new community. Starting in a new school the teacher gives him a piece of paper to color. As he begins to color, he makes all the flowers green and red, after all that is the only way flowers are seen he has been told. Seeing the child’s drawing, the teacher asks, what he is doing. He tells her painting flowers . . . red and green because that is the way they have always been seen.
This surprised the teacher. Smiling she tells the boy, “Painting should be fun and there are so many colors in a flower, so let’s use every one.” But it was too late. The boy could not do it . . . there was only one way to see and it was the way he was told.
What do you see?
Too often in life we are told how to see and what to see despite knowing that we see something quite different. Too often we are told that that is the only way that things can be see . . . that we live in a two-dimensional world . . . a black and white world. Too often we allow the world and people to crush the creativity and dreams . . . to squash the multi-colored world into nothingness. And, sadly, too often we allow and accept it.
From our reading we can determine that Joseph and Mary were fairly common people . . . possibly on the lower end of the economic picture. They are ordinary people doing what is expected of them at the time. Their child, Jesus, has come to the age of being dedicated and they are making their way to the temple. They are doing what all parents do. They are getting in line with all the other parents. A pretty common action, yet they keep hearing these people talk about their son. Talking about how important the child is in the big picture of things . . . a savior of sorts. It is difficult to not see the reactions of the people, especially Simeon and Anna. Yet, all they see is their son . . . a small child with a long ways to go in life. Like all parents they saw what they hoped was a normal child just like everyone else’s.
But that is not what Simeon saw . . . that is not what Anna saw. They saw the Holy . . . they saw the potential . . . they saw the hope in that small child. They recognized the gift when no one else did . . . not Joseph and Mary . . . not the priests. In their eyes, in that small child, they saw a savior who had comes to free the people.
So, what do you see? What do you behold?
We made it through the season of Advent. We got through the Christmas story. Now we are a little further down the road and the gift that was received takes on a new perspective . . . so, what do you see?
How Jesus is seen and perceived is different for each and every one of us. None of us has received the gift in the same way or seen it with the same eyes. Yet, we have to be careful because we live in a world that wants us to see things the way that it see things . . . a one dimensional world. A world that tells us that flowers are all green and red. Yet, we know better. Flowers are many colors . . . as many colors as there are in a rainbow . . . as many colors as one can imagine. Because of that we cannot allow ourselves to get caught up in the trap of believing only one way. We have to allow grace and respect to the fact that things what is seen is seen through the eyes of the beholder.
Thankfully God sees us as we have been created . . . as individuals worthy of God’s love and respect. God accepts us as we are . . . for who we are. In the eyes of God, we are desired. That is how God sees us. God does not create using a cookie cutter . . . no two of us are alike. And, that is the way that God wants it.
Jesus showed that vision through his words and his life. Jesus did not see people as groups, but as individuals for who God created them to be. He did not see them as rich or poor, educated or uneducated, black or white, able or disabled . . . no, Jesus saw people for who God created them to be and he welcomed them into the family . . . welcomed them to come on the way. As far as Jesus was concerned everyone, no matter how the world saw them . . . everyone belonged.
As people who believe in Jesus and his way, we cannot see the world and its people through the eyes of the world. We must see the world and its people as Jesus sees them . . . as God sees them. We must see the potential . . . the hope . . . the promise. We must recognize that there are more than two colors, that there are as many colors as there are people in the world. We must learn to accept and respect what others see in relation to God’s vision, love, and grace . . . to recognize that there is more than one way to do things. Just because it seems strange and different does not mean it is wrong.
Simeon and Anna saw what others could not on that day that the child, Jesus, was dedicated. Remember, Joseph nor Mary could see it . . . nor could the priests; but they saw it. They saw the gift. They recognized the gift. In their eyes they have seen salvation and it was in the form of a child.
So, what do you see? What do you see in this gift that we have received? I’d tell you, but it is more important that you see for yourself. In the eyes of God . . . in the eyes of the beholder . . . we are worthy of the gift that is before us. May you see what you are looking for. Amen.
