Eyes to See: How the Beatitudes Change the Way We View People
This week's message started with a trip to the eye doctor and a pair of Costco sunglasses that turned out to be pink. Nobody warned the color blind guy buying them, so he preached a whole sermon before finding out. It got a good laugh, but it set up a real question. What if our problem isn't our eyes, but the way we see people?
There's a moment in Matthew where two blind men shout for Jesus while a busy crowd pushes past them. The crowd noticed them. Jesus actually saw them. He stopped, asked what they wanted, and healed them out of compassion. That gap between being noticed and being truly seen runs through the whole story. Matthew holds onto that question all the way to the cross. The religious and political leaders, the people who should have recognized God, end up mocking Jesus as he dies. Then a Roman soldier, an outsider with no reason to care, looks up and says, "This was certainly God's Son." The least likely person in the crowd is the one who finally sees clearly.
That's the lens. When you read the Beatitudes through the cross, you start to notice that Jesus was the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the persecuted one. The blessed life often looks broken to the world.
Father Gregory Boyle spent thirty years at Homeboy Industries learning this from former gang members most people had given up on. One of them put it this way after years of hiding his scars: "My wounds are my friends. How can I help heal the wounded if I don't welcome my own?"
So here's something to sit with this week. When you look at the people around you, do you see someone to judge, or someone to love and learn from?
Jesus, would you open our eyes.
We'd love to have you join us. Garden City Church meets every Sunday at 10:00 AM here in Tacoma. Come as you are, whether you've been following Jesus for years or you're just curious and checking things out. This is a place you can belong before you believe. You can find this full sermon on our podcast or YouTube page
- George Bedlion