Longing to See

Luke 10:17-24

Earlier today I was reflecting with a friend about all the activities we had been involved with because of our children. I shared that during one of my son’s soccer seasons I attended every game except one—and I only missed half of it—but that was the half in which my son scored. How I long to have seen that goal! Yet even that fatherly desire does not compare with the longing that Jesus describes to his followers in our reading from Luke this morning. “Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it’” (Luke 10:23-24). Earlier in Luke Jesus announces the year of the Lord’s favor and the inauguration of the coming reign (Luke 4). Now Jesus reaffirms the significance of his ministry as the fulfillment of God’s promises. For centuries men and women of faith had waited to see what God would do. Now God was doing it, and the disciples were blessed to be witnesses.

Centuries later we might wish for the opportunity to see the work of Jesus, to walk the roads of Palestine with him, to sit at his feet and hear his words. But we can’t. That is not the role we are to play. Like those who lived before Jesus and longed earnestly to see the salvation of God’s people, we, too, must live in faith, accepting the word of God and trusting God’s promises. Our longing to be witnesses, though, should not detract from our faithful obedience to God’s will in our lives, for by grace we have work to do, lives to touch, news to share. Yes, the disciples were blessed to see what they saw, but we are also blessed to be called God’s people and to trust in the grace of God to lead us where we need to go.

Prayer: Gracious God, may our lives, blessed as they are, be a source of blessing for others to the glory of your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.