"Be Thou My Vision," a traditional Irish hymn attributed to Dallan Forgaill from the 8th century, asks God to be the one we see and through whom we see.
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light
Be thou my Wisdom and thou my true Word
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord
Thou my great parent and I thy true child
Thou in me dwelling and I with thee one
Riches I heed not nor all empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art
High King of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all. Amen.
(Tune: SLANE)
This rich hymn begins and ends with the petition that God be our vision. This suggests that the whole song teaches us what it means for God to be our vision. "Naught be all else to me, save that thou art": When God is our vision, the only things that matter to us are God and what matters to God. When we are asleep or awake, God's presence accompanies our thoughts. We remember that God is our loving parent dwelling with us, giving us wisdom and filling us with life. When God is our vision, we do not seek wealth or the high esteem of others, but trust that God will give us all that we need. God becomes the one we seek first.
When God is our vision, our own vision begins to change. I suspect we begin to see the world as God sees it: "The LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7, NRSV). We see beyond the surface to the truth. I recently watched a movie in 3D. During the first five minutes, the screen flashed erratically and the colors were only green and black. Then someone complained and an attendant restarted the movie, fixing the visuals. After that, watching the movie made me feel like I was beside the characters, floating in space. I knew that now I was watching the movie as it was meant to be watched. Seeing with God's vision is probably similar: the world comes into more focus than before.
Seeing more clearly often takes time, though. The Gospel of Mark tells a story of a blind man whom Jesus healed--twice. After Jesus touches his eyes the first time, Jesus asks him if he can see anything, and the man says, "I can see people, but they look like trees, walking." So Jesus touches his eyes again, and this time, the man "looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly" (Mark 8:22-25). For this man, seeing clearly was a process. Like him, I need Jesus' healing touch again and again in order to see more clearly.
John writes that "No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:11-12). The deeper we live in love, the more clearly we see God. When we love God and our neighbor, God becomes our vision.
May God make us see, and seeing, help us to better love God and our neighbor. May God be the one we seek. May God be our vision.
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