One of my favorite pictures of my children was taken at a Christmas Eve Candlelight service at St. Luke’s several years ago. It was taken by my friend and colleague, Brent Manning. The picture shows Hannah with her arm draped around her younger brother. Brooks is saying something to her and she is listening intently. Both are holding their candles and it appears to be a holy moment captured between the two. Brent sent me the picture and I told Hannah and Brooks that it looked like they were having a special moment together during the service. I shared with them that it meant everything to me that they were close and had their own spiritual moment together during the worship service. They revealed to me that it wasn’t a quiet moment of reflection but rather Brooks was telling Hannah a funny story of something that had just happened to him. The photo caught the moment right before they started giggling about it.
The interesting thing is that their revelation did not change the way I see them in the photo. I still see the love they have for one another. I can see the love they have for God and their church. The candlelight that illumines their faces reveals the true holiness of the moment. I know my children – I know that they have made mistakes in life – I know that they haven’t always been on best behavior in church, and yet even with knowing the backstory of the picture – I see them at their best.
I believe that is how God looks upon us. God knows our mistakes, our worst moments, and yet still sees us at our best. The Christ Child was born in Bethlehem to show that God could be among us and see everything we do, and still love us unconditionally. When we see newborn babies, we tend to see them at their very best with all their potential ahead of them. When you look at the figure of the baby Jesus, I think it is a reminder of how God looks at us – with all of our potential still in front of us. God knows us completely and sees us at our best.
What would the world be like if we started seeing others as God sees them? Too often we have a “snapshot” of someone doing something less than desirable and it forms our opinion of their identity. We have judged them on one moment and we have chosen to see them in the worst light. What a Christmas gift it would be for Jesus and the world if we would see one another with the love of Christ. Imagine that you are the photographer capturing pictures of people with their faces illuminated by the Light of the World – and see them at their best.
Rev. Wendy Lambert, Senior Executive Pastor
