Do You See This Woman?

When we read the Bible, the Bible reads us. As we hear the questions put to individuals in the pages of Scripture, we hear them being put to us as well. 

To do with the restoring of sight. There was blind Bartimaeus who, when asked what he wanted Jesus to do for him stated the obvious, ‘Lord, I want to see’ (Luke 18:35–42). 

There was the man born blind whom the disciples tried to use to make a theological point. ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither … sinned,’ said Jesus. ‘This man’s blindness was for the glory of God’ (John 9:1–3, paraphrased). 

Maybe the most dramatic story of seeing belongs right back in the first book of the Bible (see Genesis 16). Abram and his wife Sarai were old and childless. Hopeless case! Sarai gave Abram her maidservant Hagar who bore a son to Abram. Joyful answer! But no! Conflict between Hagar and her mistress resulted in Hagar running away. Hopeless case! 

But no! By a spring in the desert an angel messenger of God spoke to Hagar, reassuring her that her desperate cries for herself and her son had been heard. In that place God was named El Roi, the God who sees (Genesis 16:13, CEB). 

Turn the pages of hundreds of years to another day when Jesus asks his host the question, ‘Do you see this woman?’ (Luke 7:44). Jesus has been invited to the home of Simon, a Pharisee. None of the usual formalities of welcome, such as foot washing or a kiss of greeting or anointing with oil, are offered to Jesus. But a woman with a well-known sullied reputation throws herself at his feet, washing them with her tears and her perfume and smothering them with kisses. In response to this wild, extravagant, scandalous outpouring of devotion, Jesus tells Simon a pointed story, then turns to the woman, speaks forgiveness to her and extends a blessing of peace. 

You don’t have to be a woman with a questionable reputation to want to be seen. It is a basic need of the human spirit. If someone sees me, really sees me for who I am, then I am known and valued. 

The stories from India, Bulgaria, Georgia and Tanzania in this year’s Self-Denial Appeal have featured people who have been ‘seen’ and become involved with projects that support and benefit them. 

May what we place on the altar as our Self-Denial offering give us the joy of seeing with fresh eyes the many ways in which we can help others to see and be seen as well. 

Hope is the bird
who sings in the dark
knowing that dawn is coming
Hope is the bud
appearing on a rose bush
after a long cold winter
Hope is the prayer
of a mother
rocking her fretful
child to sleep
Hope is the risk
of love that
bends low and serves
Hope is the gift
digging deep
reaching wide
stretching far
Hope is the peace
that holds us
and will not let go 
Barbara Sampson

Paul wrote to the believers at Rome, ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 15:13). This verse is a promise for our Self-Denial offering and a reminder of the hope to which we have been called. 

Our offering plus God’s hope, love and joy will work a miracle in our own life and in the lives of others.