DO  YOU  SEE 

WHAT   I   SEE?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Friday in the First Week of Advent is, “Do You See What I See?”

I think that’s a song line in a Christmas carol.

"Do you see what I see?"

#1 LIFE LESSON

At times I wonder what is the greatest life lesson one can learn.

If we took a poll at a senior citizens center – asking that question – “The # 1 thing I’ve learned about life is ________” – I’m sure the answers would broadcast great wisdom – as well as similarities as well as differences.

What have I learned about life so far?  What do I see? What’s been my life lessons from my life experiences? What have those experiences been?

I like to ask couples celebrating their 50^th Wedding Anniversary, “What have you learned?”  “What’s the secret?”

I hear comments about communication, communication, communication.

I hear folks says, “Listen, Listen, Listen.”

I hear folks says, “Forgive – Forget – 70 times 7 times.”

I often hear cute – joke – comments like, “Always say,  ‘Yes dear’ or ‘You’re right!’”

The answers differ – and the same folks give different answers on different occasions to the same question. 

When asked about changed comments – folks often say, “It all depends!” 

Is that one of life’s great secrets: The ability to realize - It all depends.

It seems that those 3 words are often in the mix of many a conversation – so maybe that’s are one of life’s lessons.

ONE MORE KEY LIFE LESSON: WE ALL SEE DIFFERENTLY.

At times I hear someone say: “We all see differently.” 

And then they add, “In fact everyone sees differently – and the sooner you get that – the happier you’ll be.”

I once heard a speaker say, “The whole of life can be found in the verb, to see.”

I was never that sure just what that meant – but if it means, “We all see differently”– I get it.

Let me give a few examples.

The first is my Forest Gump example.

Years ago I was attending a scripture conference in Chicago with 3 other priests – each of us a Redemptorist. On Wednesday night we had off – so the 4 of us decided to go to a movie. A diocesan priest asked if he could join us. I asked in the car on the way out to the movie theater, “What’s the movie?”

The guy who was organizing the deal said, “Forest Gump.”

I said, “Never heard of it.”

So I went into the movie thinking it was a western and happy to be with 3 guys I knew – as well as a stranger.

The movie is over. We’re standing in the lobby – waiting for the guy who went for the car. I said to the stranger one to one, “How’d you like the movie?”

He said just to me, “I didn’t and I didn’t get it.”

That surprised me. I thought it was a great movie – a great way of doing biography and history and what have you.

In the 10 minute car ride back to the conference center two of the five in the car were talking and laughing and telling all  kinds of things that hit them about the movie. They loved the movie. One even said, “I’m willing to bet it’s going to win an Oscar.”

We get back to the conference center. A friend of the diocesan priest who went with us asked him about the movie. I was the only one who heard him make the following comment. “We saw a movie named Forest Gump. It was really great and worth seeing and I got a lot out of it.”

I’ve never forgotten that moment. It was a life lesson. People change their minds. People start to see differently. Was it because of peer pressure? Was it because he doesn’t see things till someone else points them out?

I don’t know. I don’t know how this guy sees and does life.

The second example I call, “The Pope’s White Robe” story.

I’m at a Jewish wedding of a good family friend in Ann Arbor Michigan. Near the end of the wedding, the father of the bridegroom asks me to drop a friend of his and his wife at the airport in Michigan on their way back to California. Marty knew I’d be driving right by the airport.

We’re in my car and this Jewish guy says to me, “What do you call that white robe the Pope wears?”

I say, “Cassock!”

He then says, “Now don’t take me wrong. Every time I see him wearing that white  garment – I think of a great way to solve any money problems the Catholic Church might have. All they would have to do is put advertisements on that white garment – like a Pepsi Cola or a Coca Cola  image and message.”

I said, “No offense. Great idea – but no – I’m sure they would never do that.”

What I got out of that moment was this: he was seeing a great space for advertising something – I see the pope.

We all see differently.

My sister Mary doesn’t like t-shirts with messages on them. I see t-shirts with messages on them as great conversation starters.

So maybe put a biblical text – like “Love one another as I have loved you.” on the pope’s cassock.”

My sister Mary and I were together for a whole week at Thanksgiving with my sister-in-law and 6 of her 7 daughters and their families in a big rent-a-house in Virginia Beach.  Surprise my grandnieces and nephews and 2 girl friends came out of a room wearing t-shirts with my picture on them – celebrating my 75^th Birthday – with the message, “Hi Turkey!” on the shirt. That’s one of my favorite sayings. I’ve discovered that it’s a great ice breaker. It’s a great instant conversation starter with people. I’ll have to ask my sister Mary if she liked those t-shirts with a message on them.

A last example goes like this. A young teenage girl came out of her room and told her daddy she lost a contact lens. She said she searched everywhere in her room and couldn’t find it. “I looked 2 whole hours,” she said. He went in and in 3 minutes came out  with her contact lens. 

She said, “How did you find it so quickly?”

He said, “You were looking for a contact lens. I was looking for $200.”

Obvious message: we all see differently.

CONVERSATION STARTER – COMMUNICATION STARTER

I’m saying in this homily that “seeing” is a great life message.

I’m saying in this homily that knowing we often see differently – both of us or all of us looking at the same movie or thing, and then checking it out – can lead to conversations, communication, communion – as well as growth in understanding each other

CONCLUSION

I’ll start and end my homily this way, “The title of my homily is, ‘Do You See What I See?’”

Say those 6 words 6 times each day to 6 different people, and see what they see.  They might help you see things you never saw before.

SEEING

"I remember standing on a street corner with the black painter Beauford Delaney down in the Village waiting for the light to change, and he pointed down and said, 'Look.'  I looked and all I saw was water. And he said, 'Look again,' which I did, and I saw oil on the water and the city reflected in the puddle. It was a great revelation to me. I can't explain it. He taught me how to see, and how to trust what I saw. Painters have often taught writers how to see. And once you've had that experience, you see differently." James Baldwin