Lent.

Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas (which means Peter)”. A rock.

(John 1: 42)

My wife, Barbara, and I spend most mornings walking along the trails in Townsend, where we live. For some time now, we have also been picking up trash along the roadway. We jokingly refer to ourselves as the “trashercizers!” Fellow walkers, joggers, and bikers along the trail have been prone to say hi and sometimes thank us for what we do.

Recently, a nice young Townsend employee, concerned for the safety of two older folks picking up trash along busy U.S. 321, gave us a couple of those bright, almost glowing yellow safety vests to wear. We began to notice a difference in how people treat us when we wear the vests. They seldom speak. Or even notice us. It’s as if, wearing the “official roadside pickup attire,” we become jobs, not people. The irony is that wearing a uniform to make us visible makes us invisible.

We began to think of all the people we run into, or who help us in a variety of ways, who become roles, not individuals—bank tellers, waitstaff in restaurants, cashiers, janitors, and numerous others.

One of the things I love about Jesus is that when he encountered people he BEHELD them. That’s a great word the King James Version of the Bible uses to describe how Jesus looked at Simon, and how he looked at countless others.

To behold someone is to really see her or him; to see more than the surface, to see the heart. In our scripture verse Jesus meets the fisherman, Simon, for the first time. Simon is an ordinary laborer, and also by nature impulsive and volatile. But Jesus sees not only what Simon has been so far, but what he can become. “You are Simon,” he says, “but you will become Cephas,” or Peter, which is to say, a Rock! Throughout the gospels Jesus encountered people of various stations in life and he beheld them.

He beholds you. You are not invisible to him, your worth doesn’t depend on what you can do for him. He sees you and knows you and loves you. Maybe it’s time, because we belong to the one who beholds us, to behold others.

Prayer:

Dear God, Help me to use the eyes of Jesus to see others, even as I give thanks that the eyes of Jesus have seen both what I am and what I can become. Amen.

Today’s devotional was written and read by Herb Sadler.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.