Only Jesus

“Get up,” Jesus said. “Don’t be afraid.” And when they looked, they saw only Jesus.*

We are filled, to the brim and overflowing, with so very many endeavors, striving to please and achieve and earn our place, that it is rare to see “only Jesus.” We see our successes, our failures, how much still needs to be accomplished. But only Jesus? Even in the stillness of prayer, we see in our mind’s eye people’s needs, piles of work to be done, chores to be finished, books to be read, appointments to be kept—but we do not often see “only Jesus.”

Experiment during your normal activities. Try doing the tasks of your day—cleaning up, buying food, riding the bus, walking in your neighborhood—with an eye out for Jesus. Read the newspaper with one goal in mind: to see only Jesus. wDo reports of wars and refugees and homeless families and disagreements in Congress and empty food pantries and the distress of immigrants and those suffering in prison show us Jesus?

With regular practice, we can train our inner eye to “see only Jesus” in the most ordinary encounters. We can begin to see a bright cloud of communion shining over each encounter, over the Earth, our precious hurting home. Once we see this way, we will be unable ever to turn away. Even when facing loss or wrestling with despair, our hearts will know to kneel in wonder. We will begin to be never afraid again.