“Seeing with God’s Eyes” 
 The Rev. Lisa Chase 
Silver Spring Presbyterian Church 
March 19, 2023 
 Fourth Sunday in Lent
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Our New Testament lesson is from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 5, verses 8-14. Please listen to the word of our Lord.

Walking in Light

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore, He says:

“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Our scriptures today provide an interesting dichotomy – Ephesians reminding us to live in the light, in the fruit of the spirit – goodness, righteous and truth, while exposing those works of the darkness in ourselves and others. 1 Samuel reminds us to never judge a person by his or her outer appearance. Yet, the two texts complement each other – never judge a book by its cover – and let Christ’s light be the only thing that people see.

As children, we’ve been told to never judge a book by its cover (attributed to writer George Eliot in her 1860 novel Mill on the Floss.) Certainly, to mean not to judge a person by his or her outer appearance, but what’s inside a person’s heart. (As my grandma Alice would say – beauty is only skin deep). 

The cast of characters from the book of 1 Samuel provide an opportunity to delve into a Gospel truth. Seeing and loving others as God does, not the way we see and love them, with our very human perspectives formed by family backgrounds, interests, beliefs and events outside of our lives that form our belief systems and drive our decisions – big and small.

Let’s look at our characters here in 1 Samuel:  God – all knowing, all seeing, all powerful, who tells Samuel to get over Saul’s disobedience and to go find a new King of Israel. Mind you, Saul reigned for 40 years before David became King. Samuel, dedicated to God even before he was conceived. Samuel’s mother, Hannah wept before the Lord, praying – literally begging for a child of her own, and if God gave her a son, she would dedicate him to God’s service. And David - Jesse’s youngest son and a shepherd, initially overlooked until Samuel requested David after sizing up his older brothers, whom God (through Samuel) rejects. God reminds Samuel to not look at appearance or how tall each of Jesse’s older sons are, because God has rejected them. God does not see as humans see. Humans look at outward appearances, but the Lord looks into the heart. While we are told that David had a healthy complexion, attractive eyes, and a handsome appearance, it was his heart and abilities that God had in mind. We know the rest of the story. Throughout his life, David’s relationship with the Lord was close. Through all his military conquests, in the face of threats against his life, and despite numerous opportunities to slay Saul, David was true to his call. It was under David’s rule, and then his son Solomon’s that Israel experienced its golden, prosperous years. And of course, King David was an ancestor of our Savior, Jesus.

Much like a high-powered microscope scientists use to study DNA and Molecules, God’s eyes saw David’s internal makeup – his emotions, his heart, his abilities, and chose him to be the future King of Israel. God knows each of us and knows how we can best live and be in service to the Kingdom. Living in the Light, as Ephesians instructs. We should view others this way as well, avoiding those snap judgments that cloud our perception.

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Books with gorgeous covers can be superficial, devoid of important lessons. The most plain-looking of books can be filled with beautiful and exciting plots, and words that sadden, stir and change us. As a young girl and a voracious reader, I would sometimes come home from school to a small stack of library books on my bed my mother had checked out for me.  One day, I found a very plain, olive-gray-blue book, missing its book cover, with the title and the author on the inside title page and its spine. Quickly sizing it up and judging it was BORING, I put it on my bedside table, while I went and did something else. That night, while in bed, looking for something to read, I pick up this small book and was drawn into its delightful plot of a soundless swan named Louis who is befriended by a boy named Sam. After a series of adventures, Louis’s father gives him a trumpet so that he can attract a mate. 

Several hours go by and late into the night, when I finally finished the book, I was filled with emotion – moved by the beauty of the story, whose plot, characters were lovingly and carefully crafted. E.B. White’s Trumpet of the Swan remains to this day one of my favorite childhood books. I judge the beauty of a book for myself still from that deep resonance I experienced from that book.

There is probably not a better example of how a person’s outer appearance led others to misperceive her, than Susan Boyle’s 2009 audition for Britain’s Got Talent. Miss Boyle, a tiny woman in an ill-fitted dress, marched out on stage, with no make up and hair all askew.

Cameras panned to show the judges’ eye rolls, and those of the audience, as Susan delightfully and innocently bantered in her lilting Scottish brogue, with Simon Cowell, who appeared to just want to get the audition over with. But when she began singing ‘I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables, facial expressions from judges and audience changed radically. Susan’s rich mezzo-soprano voice mesmerized people, and her audition received a standing ovation. While Susan ultimately came in second, her recording career has been stellar, initially managed by none other than Simon. 

Yet, I wrestle with the fact that she later received a physical makeover. The music industry would not have allowed her to go on without it. The world still struggles to view people with God’s eyes as we struggle to accept people just as they are.

The best way to understand how to see as God sees is to study the teachings of Jesus Christ, which are also found in the Holy Bible, which most often comes in a very plain cover. Still the world’s all-time bestseller, the gospels teach us that only when we see through our Creator’s eyes can we be filled with ‘the pure love of Christ.’ We develop this deeper vision when we pray daily, asking God to help us see people the way God sees them and expand and deepen our compassion for others. When we need a change of perspective, we pray for God’s perspective to just see them and their situation, and to practice patience, and loving kindness.

God looks for and sees the good in others. What he sees, we must strive to see also.

In closing, I’d like to use another singer to illustrate how God wants us to see and live with heavenly vision. In 1979, 19-year-old Amy Grant recorded ‘My Father’s Eyes’ to honor both her earthly father Nashville physician Dr. Burton Grant and her heavenly Creator. The song became a top Christian hit, and propelled Amy to music stardom. Listen to how she explains this vision:

(The song was played so the congregation could hear the lyrics.)

Good and bad they'll all be had
To see by everyone
And when you're called to stand and tell
Just what you saw in me
More than anything I know
I want your words to be

She had her Father's Eyes
Her Father's Eyes
Eyes that found the good in things
When good was not around
Eyes that found the source of help
When help would not be found
Eyes full of compassion
Seeing every pain
Knowing what you're going through
And feeling it the same

Just like my Father's Eyes
My Father's Eyes
My Father's Eyes
Just like my Father's Eyes
My Father's Eyes
My Father's Eyes
Just like my Father's Eyes

And may it be so. Amen.