Yesterday was my first Sunday back to church in two weeks. I missed two Sundays due to a mission trip and then to illness. As I walked into the church, it was buzzing. A friend at the information booth called to my husband, friends from the choir surrounded me, people tugging on me to say hello.
As I spoke with my friends, I saw a gentleman walking towards me. He was wearing a paper mask over his nose and mouth. As he walked past me he said "Good Morning Dee." I have to admit, I did not easily recognize him and being distracted, I simply replied "Good Morning."
As my husband and I moved into the sanctuary, I asked him "who was that?" He did not know either. We found our place and then I walked over to say hello to some friends. As I moved back to my seat, I saw the gentleman again. This time, I looked past the mask, past his new haircut and looked into his eyes. Through the mask I could tell he smiled. Then I saw him. I saw him through his eyes and immediately knew who it was. There is an old proverb that says "The eyes are the window to the soul."
His eyes gave away who he was. I could see he was thinner than when I last visited him and his wife at their home, he had a different hair cut and then of course there was the mask. His wife had informed me that he was ill and as her primary caretaker, the news was very unwelcome. I knew he would be testing and receiving treatment however, two weeks can make a great difference and I was not prepared for the change.
What had not changed was his spirit. He went right to his "designated" seat and took his place next to his wife. Appropriately enough, the sermon was on "not worrying." [Matthew 6:25-34].
He was the man I knew, he was my friend, his spirit was not broken. He was the same person. All I had to do was look into his eyes to know that.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they regognized him...Luke 24:30-31
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