The little word “see” crops up repeatedly in this Gospel text. Seeing seems to have many layers of meaning. Seeing is about
recognising and understanding something that may not be visible to others. It is a gift of faith.
You may have experienced a sense of assurance about something against all the logical evidence visible to those around
you. The gift of faith can give us a way to experience or see differently.
When my dad died of liver cancer earlier this year, I “saw” or sensed God because of the love that was palpably present. I also could sense my
father still present to us in that unity of love that Jesus describes in the Gospel today.
When we live with the awareness of God’s presence, we know that we are not orphaned or abandoned because we sense something that goes
beyond what is natural or explicable. My brother, who is a brilliant scientist, and who does not have the gift of faith, does not yet “see” beyond what can be physically and tangibly seen.
As followers of Christ, we are
privileged to see and know and experience an undeniable gift of presence. And even in the dark times when our ability to “see” may be obscured, we know it is there at a deeper level.
When do you “see” or experience Jesus and his Spirit with
you?
Reflections by Annemarie Paulin-Campbell
