Process of Perfection

Seeing others as God the Father sees his children

07/25/2019

Matthew 20:20-28 The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied, "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

What does it mean to look through the eyes of faith? I believe it means seeing the final product even during the process of developing it. That is, keeping your mind’s eye on the end of the journey even as you take the next step. My friend, who trained me to run marathons, inspired me when I felt tired and wanted to quit, by saying: “Every step you take is one step closer to relaxing at home and a cold beer.” Funny how that thought always put a pep in my step.

This perspective is especially urgent when we peer at people, that we try to see them through the eyes of faith. Sometimes we see people and judge them by appearance. We think in our minds: “He’s lazy,” or “She’s a gossip,” or “He’s dangerous,” or “She’s vain.” And that judgment may indeed be accurate for the present moment, at this stage of the journey. But the eyes of faith help us see them in their final stage, in the glory of heaven, rather than the snapshot we get on earth.

I often wonder when I see the poor, the destitute, the prisoners, the illegal immigrants, the homeless, the mentally ill, the severely handicapped, the alcoholics, the drug addicts, the refugees, and so forth, that one day in heaven they may be the greatest and most glorious saints. On the other hand, when I look around and see the affluent, the healthy, the intelligent, the powerful, the beautiful people – in other words, ME – I wonder if they might not look very different in heaven, that is, the smallest of the saints. To see with the eyes of faith, therefore, is to see both the final perfect product, even as you behold the messy process of becoming a great saint. Parents do this naturally when they look at their children – seeing both perfection and imperfection. We Christians must do this supernaturally when we behold the people of the world, the children of God, and see them like he does.

Today is the feast of St. James, one of the twelve apostles. We know today he is a great and glorious saint, highly polished and perfect in heaven. But how does the gospel of Matthew portray him? He and his brother John are selfish, ambitious and competitive, as they desire to sit at Jesus’ right and his left. The snapshot of Matthew 20 is not very flattering of these two fraternal apostles.

St. John Chrysostom, however, invites us to see them through the eyes of faith, after they finish the process of perfection. He writes: “See how imperfect they all are: the two who tried to get ahead of the other ten, and the ten who were jealous of the two!” He goes on: “But…show them to me at a later date in their lives, and you will see that all these impulses and feelings have disappeared.” Then he talks about James in particular: “James, for his part, was not to live very much longer; for from the beginning he was inspired by great fervor and, setting aside all purely human goals, rose to such splendid heights that he straightway suffered martyrdom.” In other words, the eyes of faith are a kind of spiritual double vision, just like all parents have when they behold their children. They see both the weakness and the woes of the moment, but also all the grace and glory that is their hope in heaven. The eyes of faith ultimately allow us to see others through the eyes of God the Father: to see both our pettiness but also our perfection, to see us both as wretched sinner but also as remarkable saints.

When you look around at the world, what do you see? For that matter, when you look around at Fort Smith, what do you see? I know that some people look askance at our fair city because it may not have all the amenities or bells and whistles of entertainment that larger cities do. We might not make many people’s top ten list of most desirable places to live in the United States. But what I see when I look at this city, and especially at Immaculate Conception parish, is people who put God and faith and charity and love of neighbor and family life ahead of worldly pursuits. On the totem pole that measures worldly success we may not reach very high, but by heavenly standards, we do much better. In other words, if we look at people not as they appear today but as we may appear one day in heaven, Fort Smith may be one of the best places to live in America!

God taught the prophet Samuel to see with the eyes of faith in 1 Samuel 16:7, as the prophet gazed on the sons of Jesse. God said: “God not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The Lord looks into the heart.” Try to see others through the eyes of faith, the eyes of God, and you might see each one of us taking another step in his life-long marathon, just getting one step closer to heaven and a cold beer.

Praised be Jesus Christ!