Looking and seeing are not the same thing. One important difference is that looking is an open-ended process. You can search, but you may not find, like the often-fruitless search to find the car keys, only to discover they were already in your pocket. We can look, but sometimes not see.
Looking is intentional, and seekers have expectations. One has to be careful, because sometimes those expectations can keep you from seeing. In science and exploration, we call that “model dependent observation.” It’s a fancy way of saying that we see what we expect to see, and can miss what’s hidden in plain sight because it was unexpected. That’s why we have the saying that warns us not to judge a book by its cover. Sometimes it’s how we look that determines whether or not we will ultimately see, and I think that whether or not we can see depends upon how open our hearts or our minds are to accepting the gift of insight.
Every one of the readings we ponder on the second Sunday of Epiphany-tide reminds us of how important it is to see, and not necessarily in the context of visual acuity.
The story of Samuel’s call is a special favorite of mine. An innocent child serving in the temple under the tutelage of the aging prophet Eli, he was sleeping peacefully when God called to him. We are told that Eli’s eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, but this is metaphor. Eli’s eyes and strength were failing because he lost sight of honoring his family’s priestly commitment to God in tolerating the behavior of his wicked sons who, though priests in the Temple were described as scoundrels, stealing sacrifices meant for God and cheating the Israelites. A holy man and prophet warned Eli that he would pay a price for breaking a covenant with God: for refusing to see what was going on under his watch. Meanwhile, young Samuel was growing up and finding favor in God’s eyes because of his innocence and obedience.
Samuel was sleeping right by the Ark of the Covenant, where God was thought to dwell. One night, just before dawn, the Lord called Samuel’s name, and he thought it was Eli calling, because he did not yet know God. Three times God called to him, and when Samuel ran to Eli each time, he began to realize that God was calling to the boy, so he advised him that if it happened again, he should stay where he was and say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening” [I Sam 3:10]. And there was indeed a fourth summons in which “the Lord came and stood there.” So Samuel answered as he had been instructed. And it’s too bad our reading didn’t include one more verse, because you would have heard God say to Samuel “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle,” [v. 11]. God was then revealed to Samuel. Now he could recognize God’s voice—he could see.
In the case of Nathanael, it was his friend Philip who wanted to bring him to a deeper knowledge of God. Philip wanted Nathanael to see, but when he said, “Have I got something good for you,” Nathanael was skeptical. He had to be invited to take a look—to meet Jesus, because his model-dependent observation led him to believe that nothing good could come out of Nazareth. But Nathanael was a good man—as Jesus said, a man in whom there was no deceit. And apparently he had an open mind, because when his friend said, “Come and see,” and he did. He talked to Jesus and saw. A humorous part being that Jesus saw him first—before even Philip brought him. Seeing begets seeing because each new insight gives birth to another. Jesus assured the astonished Nathanael that he would see even more. This is the promise of the new covenant that comes with the incarnation of God’s love on Earth. “Come and see,” says Philip to his friend. Says Eli to Samuel, “If he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” Looking is a good first step—being ready to see and know. But whether or not YOU look, God has already searched you out and known you, discerning your thoughts from afar as Psalm 139 so beautifully says. And just as Jesus says to Nathanael, you will see even greater things than a God who knows you and recognizes you standing under a shade tree.
“O taste and see that the Lord is good,” says the psalmist [Ps.34: 8]. See and know. There is plenty of room at this table and all are welcome. Come and see.