As the eyes of servants look to the hands of their master…So our eyes look to the Lord our God (Psalm 123:1-2)
Dear Friends,
For better or for worse, no one saw my epic faceplant. I’ve recently discovered the delights of trail running (if you, like me, loathe road running, try trail running – you just may change your mind about running in general), but I’m learning that it requires a great deal of concentration. On a beautiful trail in Northern Virginia, I let my eyes wander from the path and toward a building that seemed rather out of place in the woods; suddenly, I found myself flat on my face, sliding downhill over what felt like sandpaper. A very simple lesson, but a vital one: keep your eyes fixed on where you want to go.
The Letter to the Hebrews puts it like this: “Let us run with perseverance the race set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2, my emphasis). Another translation of the original Greek is, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and fulfiller of our faith.” Why is it so important to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus? Because where we focus is where we’ll eventually go.
What’s vying for our attention? Where are the eyes of our souls fixed right now? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Everything else passes away (1 Corinthians 7:31). Perhaps it’s a moment for each of us to refocus on Jesus, to let him strengthen our faith, our hope and our love and to let that same faith, hope and love impel us to renew our decision to live for his Kingdom (Matthew 6:33).
God bless you,
Fr. John Pietropaoli
Two Priests and A Mic podcaster