How good are you at ‘seeing things differently’?
In a former parish where I had been assigned, I would pull into the carport and I would see the almost brand new basketball hoops that had been put up in the schoolyard and then taken down about a week later. They were taken down because of the concerns of parents about the kinds and color and age of the kids who were using them. They wanted them up for their school children, but found that a lot of the neighborhood teens and older, of various ethnic varieties were using them. And they were afraid for their children. So they took them down. And I would see them there, right above my car each time I would pull in. Though I sympathized with their fears, I also wonder if the hoops were taken down because they did not have enough of a vision - enough of a hope of how things might be. They weren’t sure how to trust and believe that different people might find a place to be together in ways that aren't threatening. They couldn’t see how they might allow all children to live together as the members of one family.
“I heard a loud voice from the throne cry out - "This is God's dwelling among men." But if you can't see it, then it won't come to be. The hoops were a visible sign to me of how often I/we don’t see.
On the other side of that equation, there were those people in my world who could see so much more than I ever could/would. In my parish, the bulletin announcements would begin in September. In October would be the first trips to the school boiler rooms with boxes of 'stuff', collected from the neighbors. By the first week of November it was almost daily trips - and the weekend before thanksgiving - the entire Saturday was spent up in the school cafeteria - packing, sorting, boxing clothes and toys for the drive. All of this activity was coordinated by one woman, my mother. Because she saw - in her gut and in her faith - that we are all in this life together - and if there are have’s and have-not’s, then the have-not’s ought to have what the have’s have. (that was easy for me to say…) And if one child would smile once around the holidays because now they had a warm coat - then it was worth it for mom. If you can't see it - it won't come to be - but if you can - then all things are possible.
“He shall wipe away the tears from their eyes - and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain...” And there was my mom, doing her best to make the pain go away.
On this day - when we honor our mothers through out this nation - I invite you to do some reflecting - what do you "see" because of your mother? How have they taught you to view this world - with its' hopes and dreams, its fears and pain, its promise and its beauty? Because if you see it - it can come to be. If you can't - it won't.. What does your world look like because of your mother? And then spend some time giving thanks to God - for the gift she has been to you.
Also - this month of May - to remember what our world looks like because of another mother - who, despite her doubts, despite her fears, she said yes to the will of God and allowed the Christ to be born in her - Mary. And then pray - a rosary, the angelus, Perpetual Help devotions on Tuesday, or whatever - to ask for the ability to see as she does - the world as it can be when seen through the eyes of faith.
You see, the one who sits on the throne still says: SEE, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.