Acts 7:55-60 / Apocalypse 22:12-14, 16-17, 20 / John 17:20-26
It is said that the eyes are the windows and mirrors of the heart. That is indeed quite true when we observe the eyes of a person.
When a person is deep in thought or dreaming, the eyes seem to be looking into space or looking at something a mile away.
When a person is excited and lively, the eyes seem to be wide open and even dancing.
When a person is troubled or unwell, the eyes would seem to be droopy and dull.
When a person is evasive, the eyes would avoid eye contact.
And when a person is staring at something or someone, those eyes seem to be locked on to the object, like how cats fix their eyes on the prey.
Indeed the eyes of a person are like windows and mirrors of the heart. Those eyes can tell us something about how the person is feeling and what the person is thinking.
We just have to look into the eyes of a person and maybe more than just feelings and thoughts, we may also see the story of that person.
The Bible doesn’t say much about the eyes of the characters in its pages. But it does say something about where they are looking and what they are seeing.
The 1st reading begins by saying that Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand.
But the members of the council didn’t see what Stephen saw. They didn’t believe that Stephen could have a glimpse of heaven. For them, no human being could ever see heaven while on earth.
And for that, they dragged Stephen out to execute him by stoning him to death. For them their eyes were only looking for the biggest and sharpest stones to throw at Stephen.
Their eyes did not, or maybe dare not, look into the eyes of Stephen, for fear that they could see what he saw and be converted.
But even if they didn’t want to look into the eyes of Stephen, their eyes couldn’t avoid the sight of the kneeling and dying Stephen as he made that invocation: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
That sight of the praying Stephen when he was dying might not mean much then to his executioners. But it may mean something much later to that young man Saul, who later would become Paul.
And in the gospel, Jesus raised His eyes to heaven and said a long prayer to God.
We may be able to remember what He prayed for, but we will also remember that posture of prayer as Jesus raised His eyes to heaven.
Jesus, as well as Stephen, raised their eyes to heaven and they saw something, and we wish that we could see what they saw.
But they raised their eyes to heaven not because they wanted to see something. They raised their eyes to heaven because of what they saw on earth.
Stephen saw the stubbornness of the people who refused to believe even though they saw the signs and wonders that he worked.
As Stephen gazed into heaven, he saw the glory of God and of Jesus and that gave him the faith and love to forgive his enemies even as he was dying.
Jesus raised His eyes to heaven to pray for His disciples that they be united in the same love that He has for His Father.
He could see how easily the faith of His disciples could be shaken and how easily they could be disunited, and hence He raised His eyes to heaven in prayer.
As we look at our world and our Church, we could be dismayed or disturbed by what is going on around us.
The world has its problems, the Church also has its problems, we too have our own problems.
When we see a child making a commotion in Church, let us not stare or glare at the parents. Let us look at the parents and feel their embarrassment and difficulty, and have compassion and empathy for them.
When we see someone complaining and criticizing about this or that, let us look at that person and see that he is fighting with his own problems and he is looking for solutions but ending up in frustrations.
As we look into the eyes of these people, let us raise our eyes to heaven and pray for God’s revelation.
God will give us the consolation that when there are tears in the eyes, there will also be rainbows in the heart.
Let us continue to raise our eyes to heaven and pray to have eyes that will see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad and a heart that will not lose faith in God.