We can all view the same situation in different ways. As Christians we are called to look upon all people – including refugees – with the eyes of love, compassion and hospitality. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.
Readings for Friday of week 11 of ordinary time can be found here.
Have you ever seen one of those optical illusions where one picture contains two different images at the same time? At first glance, you may think it is a picture of an ornate white vase; but look again and you can also see the outline of two faces in shadow looking at each other. Another one might look initially like a duck with a long beak; or seen in a different way, a rabbit with long ears! Often in life, how we view a situation will depend on the eyes, or the attitude that we bring to it.
Athaliah the queen mother of Israel sees her infant grandson Joash as a rival in her bid for power. To her, he is not a beloved relative but a problem to be eliminated. She would rather that he be killed along with the rest of the royal family. Joash’s aunt, Jehosheba, sees him through quite different eyes. To her he is a vulnerable child, the heir to the throne, and someone who must be protected. She hides Joash away in the Temple. Fittingly for this week, Joash becomes a refugee in his own country, his safety dependent on the love, courage, and hospitality of another. Throughout this week, as we have reflected on the daily Mass readings in the light of Refugee Week, an important theme has emerged: how do we see refugees? With what eyes do we view them? Are they a political football, to be used to score points in our ever more divisive national debates? Are they a problem to be gotten rid of? Or do we view them as human beings, as Jehosheba did with Joash, who need love, support, and a safe place in which to live? The latter is surely the attitude of organisations such as Oasis whom we pray for in our Mass intention today.
Jesus says “the eye is the lamp of the body … if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” How we view others not only affects them, important as that is. It also says something fundamental about ourselves. Are we full of light or full of darkness in the way we look upon the most vulnerable in our world?
Mass today is in St Saviour’s at 10am.
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