Kirkepiscatoid

Mark 10:17-22:

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? ” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother. ’ ” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth. ” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. ” 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

What strikes me as hidden in this verse--we get so fixated on the plight of the man in this story--is that, buried in the words of the story is a very important attribute of Jesus in verse 21: "Jesus, looking at him, loved him."

Jesus was telling this man a hard piece of news but good news--that nothing we can do individually has anything to do with our holy inheritance in as one of God's children--but it was not in a chastising way, a mean way. He truly looked on this man with love. I like to think it's the same look of love that we get from those who are close and special to us, those moments when no words are said, but our hearts are warmed.

In light of this, I became fascinated with the recent work of Marina Abramovic's recent performance work, "The Artist is Present." I suggest you simply, when you are finished with my post, make some time to sit quietly and watch her Flickr slide show of the faces who looked back at her during this project here.

What strikes me in the gallery of pictures are the number of people who have streaks of tears falling, or wet eyes, yet a joyful look on their faces. I like to think it's the essence of what the joy of seeing God in each other is all about. I invite you to simply look...and feel.