Can You See What I See?
May 4, 2025 Third Sunday of Easter
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Acts 9:1-9 and Acts 9:10-19
“Can You See What I See?”
Douglas T. King
An optical illusion, sometimes called a cognitive illusion, is when we "assume" we are seeing something other than what is actually being shown or see something in a certain way when it could be seen in a multitude of ways. These illusions occur when our brain makes assumptions about visual information based on context and prior experience. Our brains fill in the gaps of what we think we should see. Many of us remember that photo of a dress that spread like wildfire throughout the internet a few years ago as people debated whether it was blue and black or white and gold. Neuroscientists speak of the different filtering schemes our brains possess depending upon our previous, personal experience. These filtering schemes determine what we see. This is the basis for how Rorschach tests reveal elements of our personality.
The cover of our bulletin today is an example of an image that can reveal two different things depending upon our personal filtering. The first thing some of us see is a white chalice against a dark background. The first thing others of us see are the profile of two dark faces separated by the white light between them. One picture, two very different visions.
So why all of this discussion of optical illusions? Well, in today’s reading from the Book of Acts, Saul finds himself temporarily sightless following his encounter with the risen Christ. Prior to this time, Saul saw the world in the stark terms of “us” versus “them.” The “us” were elements of the Jewish hierarchy and the “them” was this upstart group of believers who were following the teachings of Jesus. In the previous chapter of Acts Saul is present and supportive of the stoning of Stephen for blasphemy. And then he proceeds to drag nascent Christians from their homes and imprison them. Our text this morning continues to tell the tale of his passionate desire to persecute the “them.”
Saul, seeking to be faithful, can only see the world in black and white. If you did not see the world and his God the way in which he did, then you were an enemy that needed to be destroyed. Saul, seeing the good in what he believed, assumed that anything other than what he believed must be inherently evil.
In his encounter with the risen Christ and subsequent sightlessness, Paul was given the gift of seeing in a new way. He could see beyond the presumptions which had skewed how he saw those around him, including and especially those with whom he disagreed.
Of course, we know where the story goes from here. Saul becomes Paul and helps to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to countless other people and communities. But none of that was possible until he stopped seeing the world through an “us” versus “them” lens.
Sadly, we find ourselves living in a world that is increasingly handicapped by an “us” versus “them” lens. We are divided into distinct camps that mistrust all those outside their own camp.
Greg Boyle is a Jesuit Priest who serves in Los Angeles and is a friend of a colleague of mine who used to serve in East Harlem. Father Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world. For decades he has served in the midst of the gang culture of Los Angeles. He has seen, first hand, the death and destruction wrought by “us” versus “them” as warring gangs battle for territory and respect. In his book, Cherished Belonging, he writes this, “…‘othering’ is the opposite of who God is…The answer to every question is compassion…The prayer of our life is to lean toward the God of love and say, ‘Give me your eyes. Then all we’ll see is glorious.”
What Father Boyle is calling us to is a different lens to see one another. There is not a person who is born who is not a beloved child of God. That is what Jesus’ opened Saul’s eyes to see, and seeks to open our eyes to see. That is what God sees when he looks at each and every last one of us, a beloved child. When we demonize someone, for what they have done in the past, their nationality, their political perspective, or whatever marker we carry to evaluate others, we are not seeing that person the way in which God does.
These days we are a nation divided. In our national discourse and political debate there is no room for mutual respect. It is as if our country consists of rival gangs fighting over territory. Even families have been divided. There are countless stories of parents and adult children who have basically cut all ties with one another. All too often when we see someone of opposing views to ours we do not see a beloved child of God, we see someone who is stupid, or mean, or even evil.
When Paul became sightless and then sighted once more he saw the world and those in it very differently. We tend to focus solely on his transformation into becoming a follower of Christ. But it is important to note how he chose to live out his new faith. He could have just switched sides and sought to persecute the Jews. He could have breathed threats and murder against them, just as he used to do to the Christians with whom he previously disagreed.
But he did no such thing. Paul was no longer a man of violence and intolerance. He had a passion for his beliefs but not a need to denigrate and destroy those who believed differently. Paul saw the world in a new light. He was able to see everyone as a beloved child of God, regardless of their beliefs. He saw everyone as God saw them.
The neuroscientist Pascal Wallisch writes this about optical illusions. “The illusions and the science behind them raise a question: How do we go about our lives knowing our experiences might be a bit wrong? There’s no one answer. And it’s a problem we’re unlikely to solve individually. I’d suggest that it should nudge us to be more intellectually humble and to cultivate a habit of seeking out perspectives that are not our own. We should be curious about our imperfections, as that curiosity may lead us closer to the truth. We can build cultures and institutions that celebrate humility and reduce the social cost for saying, ‘I was wrong.’”
None of our visions are perfect. None of us sees the world and each other as clearly as we think we do.
God gifted Paul both with a faith in Jesus Christ and with a new way to see all of those around him. It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit can provide us all with a new lens, that we can see each other the way in which God sees each and every one of us, as beloved.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Boyle, Gregory, Cherished Belonging, Avid Reader Press,
New York, 2024.
Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church
Acts 9:1-9 and Acts 9:10-19
“Can You See What I See?”
Douglas T. King
An optical illusion, sometimes called a cognitive illusion, is when we "assume" we are seeing something other than what is actually being shown or see something in a certain way when it could be seen in a multitude of ways. These illusions occur when our brain makes assumptions about visual information based on context and prior experience. Our brains fill in the gaps of what we think we should see. Many of us remember that photo of a dress that spread like wildfire throughout the internet a few years ago as people debated whether it was blue and black or white and gold. Neuroscientists speak of the different filtering schemes our brains possess depending upon our previous, personal experience. These filtering schemes determine what we see. This is the basis for how Rorschach tests reveal elements of our personality.
The cover of our bulletin today is an example of an image that can reveal two different things depending upon our personal filtering. The first thing some of us see is a white chalice against a dark background. The first thing others of us see are the profile of two dark faces separated by the white light between them. One picture, two very different visions.
So why all of this discussion of optical illusions? Well, in today’s reading from the Book of Acts, Saul finds himself temporarily sightless following his encounter with the risen Christ. Prior to this time, Saul saw the world in the stark terms of “us” versus “them.” The “us” were elements of the Jewish hierarchy and the “them” was this upstart group of believers who were following the teachings of Jesus. In the previous chapter of Acts Saul is present and supportive of the stoning of Stephen for blasphemy. And then he proceeds to drag nascent Christians from their homes and imprison them. Our text this morning continues to tell the tale of his passionate desire to persecute the “them.”
Saul, seeking to be faithful, can only see the world in black and white. If you did not see the world and his God the way in which he did, then you were an enemy that needed to be destroyed. Saul, seeing the good in what he believed, assumed that anything other than what he believed must be inherently evil.
In his encounter with the risen Christ and subsequent sightlessness, Paul was given the gift of seeing in a new way. He could see beyond the presumptions which had skewed how he saw those around him, including and especially those with whom he disagreed.
Of course, we know where the story goes from here. Saul becomes Paul and helps to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to countless other people and communities. But none of that was possible until he stopped seeing the world through an “us” versus “them” lens.
Sadly, we find ourselves living in a world that is increasingly handicapped by an “us” versus “them” lens. We are divided into distinct camps that mistrust all those outside their own camp.
Greg Boyle is a Jesuit Priest who serves in Los Angeles and is a friend of a colleague of mine who used to serve in East Harlem. Father Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world. For decades he has served in the midst of the gang culture of Los Angeles. He has seen, first hand, the death and destruction wrought by “us” versus “them” as warring gangs battle for territory and respect. In his book, Cherished Belonging, he writes this, “…‘othering’ is the opposite of who God is…The answer to every question is compassion…The prayer of our life is to lean toward the God of love and say, ‘Give me your eyes. Then all we’ll see is glorious.”
What Father Boyle is calling us to is a different lens to see one another. There is not a person who is born who is not a beloved child of God. That is what Jesus’ opened Saul’s eyes to see, and seeks to open our eyes to see. That is what God sees when he looks at each and every last one of us, a beloved child. When we demonize someone, for what they have done in the past, their nationality, their political perspective, or whatever marker we carry to evaluate others, we are not seeing that person the way in which God does.
These days we are a nation divided. In our national discourse and political debate there is no room for mutual respect. It is as if our country consists of rival gangs fighting over territory. Even families have been divided. There are countless stories of parents and adult children who have basically cut all ties with one another. All too often when we see someone of opposing views to ours we do not see a beloved child of God, we see someone who is stupid, or mean, or even evil.
When Paul became sightless and then sighted once more he saw the world and those in it very differently. We tend to focus solely on his transformation into becoming a follower of Christ. But it is important to note how he chose to live out his new faith. He could have just switched sides and sought to persecute the Jews. He could have breathed threats and murder against them, just as he used to do to the Christians with whom he previously disagreed.
But he did no such thing. Paul was no longer a man of violence and intolerance. He had a passion for his beliefs but not a need to denigrate and destroy those who believed differently. Paul saw the world in a new light. He was able to see everyone as a beloved child of God, regardless of their beliefs. He saw everyone as God saw them.
The neuroscientist Pascal Wallisch writes this about optical illusions. “The illusions and the science behind them raise a question: How do we go about our lives knowing our experiences might be a bit wrong? There’s no one answer. And it’s a problem we’re unlikely to solve individually. I’d suggest that it should nudge us to be more intellectually humble and to cultivate a habit of seeking out perspectives that are not our own. We should be curious about our imperfections, as that curiosity may lead us closer to the truth. We can build cultures and institutions that celebrate humility and reduce the social cost for saying, ‘I was wrong.’”
None of our visions are perfect. None of us sees the world and each other as clearly as we think we do.
God gifted Paul both with a faith in Jesus Christ and with a new way to see all of those around him. It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit can provide us all with a new lens, that we can see each other the way in which God sees each and every one of us, as beloved.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Boyle, Gregory, Cherished Belonging, Avid Reader Press,
New York, 2024.
Recent
Archive
2025
March
2024
January
March
June
July
August
September
October
November
No Comments