The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
A few weeks ago, I was speedwalking through the grocery store before rushing on to my next errand when I saw a man sitting at a small table with some promotional materials. Just the kind of person to avoid, I thought. Just the kind of interruption I don’t need today. I glanced over one more time as I moved toward the farther side of the aisle—
Just a friend!
The man that I didn’t have time for was someone I knew! Somehow, I had both seen and not seen him. I smiled and walked over for a quick hello that just moments ago I hadn’t had time for.
That’s the power of recognition. Without changing anything, it is a force that changes everything. That’s what our readings today are all about: not just seeing but recognizing. In the second reading, Peter is astonished to find the Holy Spirit at work in the Gentile Cornelius. Jewish law prohibits associating with Gentiles, yet God inspires Peter to see beyond that, to recognize in the light of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, not profanity and uncleanness, but a brother! Peter saw Cornelius as soon as he walked in the door, but it wasn’t until he saw Cornelius as God sees him—as a beloved child—that Peter joyfully shared the Good News with him.
Then in the Gospel we see the greatest recognition of all. With John, we watch a poor man from Nazareth enter the River Jordan. But it is the chosen one of God we see coming up from the water. This is the pivotal act of recognition we are all called to make: to see Jesus, not just with our eyes as He appears, but with our hearts as He truly is. This recognition changes everything, because if Jesus is Lord, then we can trust Him with our lives. If He is Lord, then we must follow where He leads and love as He asks. That is a great challenge, but do you know what makes it easier?
Recognition.
It is easier to love when we recognize someone worth loving. A human being and not a nuisance in the grocery store. A beloved brother and not a dirty homeless man. Jesus Himself in the needy, the annoying, and the problematic. When we see through the eyes of God, everything changes. Let us ask Him for that power of recognition.
Paula Golbabai is a wife and mother raising four kids and a flock of chickens with her husband in College Station, Texas. She loves accounting, good books, and watching the adventure of her life unfold as she keeps doing her best to say “yes” to God. You can find her discussing holiness in the mom life on the podcast she co-hosts, Everyday Fiat.
