But the LORD said to Samuel: Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The LORD looks into the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7
The world became used to looking at others for what their appearances and status in society are. This is the first way by which we inadvertently separate ourselves from that one humanity that God created. We categorize others by what we see on their cover, the outside shell of a person that might not be completely agreeable to our eyes. What we see that is different, what we hear, and what limitations we perceive that we use to separate us from each other and ultimately from the Lord. In the first reading today, we find a key teaching that brings us to understand how God sees us. God examines the deepest parts of our soul and sees the treasures that our hearts contain. It is that heart that the Lord sees and loves, and not the appearances by which we, not him, judge others. But we must remember that He created us in his image and our entire being is pleasing to him!
I invite all of us to start this new year discovering what treasures the heart of others hold. To accompany someone who we consider different, to courageously listen and love, to insert ourselves in the heart of the other, and to re-imagine a world that sees with the heart, a world that is pleasing to God! If we do that, can you imagine the changes we could see in the world?
Have you judged someone in your ministry, neighborhoods, circles by their appearances? Take some time to discover today who they truly are by rediscovering their heart’s treasures.
Lord, help our eyes see the beauty that you created in us, and to learn to love unconditionally as you do. Amen!
¡Reimagina el Mundo!
Pero el Señor le dijo: “No te dejes impresionar por su aspecto ni por su gran estatura, pues yo lo he descartado, porque yo no juzgo como juzga el hombre. El hombre se fija en las apariencias, pero el Señor se fija en los corazones” 1 Samuel 16, 7
1 Samuel 16, 7
El mundo se acostumbró a mirar a los demás por sus apariencias y su estatua en la sociedad. Esta es la primera forma en que inadvertidamente nos separamos de esa humanidad que Dios creó. Clasificamos a los demás por lo que vemos en su portada, el caparazón exterior de una persona que podría no ser completamente agradable a nuestros ojos. Lo que vemos que es diferente, lo que escuchamos y las limitaciones que percibimos que usamos para separarnos unos de otros y, en última instancia, del Señor. En la primera lectura de hoy, encontramos una enseñanza clave que nos lleva a descubrir cómo nos ve Dios. Dios examina las partes más profundas de nuestra alma y ve los tesoros que contienen nuestros corazones. Es ese corazón lo que el Señor ve y ama, y no las apariencias por las que nosotros, no él, juzgamos a los demás. ¡Pero debemos recordar que Él nos creó a su imagen y todo nuestro ser le agrada!
Los invito a todos a comenzar este nuevo año descubriendo los tesoros que guarda el corazón de los demás. Acompañar a alguien que consideramos diferente, a escuchar y amar con valentía, insertarnos en el corazón del otro y volver a imaginar un mundo que ve con el corazón, ¡un mundo que agrada a Dios! Si hacemos eso, ¿te imaginas los cambios que podríamos ver en el mundo?
¿Ha juzgado a alguien en tu ministerio, vecindario, o círculos por su apariencia? Tómate un tiempo para descubrir hoy quiénes realmente son al redescubrir los tesoros de su corazón.
Señor, ayuda a nuestros ojos a ver la belleza que creaste en todos nosotros y a aprender a amar incondicionalmente como tú. ¡Amén!
Today’s Reflection is by:
Vivi Iglesias
Did you know…
Vivi Iglesias is the National Advisor for Partnerships for Catholic Relief Services (CRS). A theologian, public speaker, and writer, Vivi serves as Region XIV Chair for the V Encuentro Process of Hispanic Ministry and is a lay member of the Bishop’s Board of Directors of the US Catholic Bishops Southeast Regional Office for Hispanic Ministry (SEPI). A native of Argentina, she is a wife, mother, and proud grandmother. Her experience includes almost 19 years of work with the Diocese of St. Petersburg, first in the Diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, later as Executive Secretary to the Bishop for almost eleven years, and finally as Associate Director of Hispanic Ministry.
