“The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. Matthew 6:22
When I was a little girl, I used to love playing in the dirt as my mother would plant the flowers in the garden. I still love having my hands and, much of the time, my feet in the dirt, growing flowers and plants that bring the hummingbirds and butterflies along with many other crawling and flying creatures to my yard. I remember making mud pies a lot, using the center yellow part of Calla Lilies to be the sprinkles on top, which was very impressive, I thought.
I recently was reminded of a children’s message I gave a long time ago about being able to see clearly. That sometimes we see others and our surroundings through dingy lens. And that sometimes we need to check our lens through which we see and clean them to be able to see clearly. So I had a prop of a bottle of Windex and I covered the label to say “Jesus Windex”, silly but got the point across. With so much that is happening in our lives and in the world around us, I can’t imagine a better time for all of us to get our Jesus Windex out, clean our lens through which we see, to be able to recognize Jesus in all of humanity and call them brothers and sisters.
There’s a story of Jesus healing the eyes of a blind beggar by taking dirt, spitting into it to make mud and placing it on his eyes so that he could see for the first time in his life. Jesus used an everyday childish thing like mud pies to heal his sight physically and spiritually (John 9:6-7). As it says, “if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” (Mt. 6:22). To see clearly, allows us freedom to see past perceptions, prejudices, naivety and judgement.
So, as we go about our days, whatever that entails, may we make mud pies to see with a renewed vision. To clean our lens with a bit of Jesus Windex to open our eyes spiritually to the world God intended. “Here’s mud in your eyes,” and be restored to newness of life.
Healing God, be present in our lives, fill us with your Spirit helping us to not only see ourselves clearly but to also be aware of our calling to love others as you do. Show yourself to us clearly and to help us to reflect your care for the broken, hurting, marginalized, and oppressed. Make our lives a living demonstration of your plans for reconciliation and transformation. In the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.
Peace, Brenda