Our eyes tell a great deal about us and how we look at the world around us. The eyes have been described as the window to the soul.
It is always a pleasure to look at a beautiful women, handsome man or any baby. It pleases our eyes on the surface but do we look below the surface at the person inside. Do we look at people as God sees them?
In our gospel today from Matthew 6, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”
Our eyes are a funnel. There are many ways for darkness to enter. We can become desensitized to the human suffering around us. Darkness can also enter our eyes through racism or prejudice. We can ignore the weak or small.
How do we keep our eyes sound?
How do we see as God does?
The answer is to look at the world as a child would. When a baby is first born their eyes can’t focus completely and only see light. The change is gradual but the child’s eye eventually mature. There is no darkness or evil, only light. The darkness, I believe, comes into a persons life as we make choices for good or bad. We have the Sacrament of Reconciliation to help us.
The light can be kept alive by using our time, talents and treasure to fuel the lamps of our soul. My neighbor just had knee surgery. His wife is on dialysis and uses a walker, so I walk his dogs 3 times a day. Only a bit of time is involved. There are some things money can not buy. Love and service to neighbor and our community is one way . If we use our treasures for good, we have spread light into the world.
My prayer today, is that we use our God given gift to keep that light alive.
God Bless
Bob Burford
