To See More Than the Surface

Compassionate Lord,

I often see people quickly.

I notice what they say, how they respond, whether they make life easier or more difficult.

Then I form conclusions from what is visible.

But when You saw the widow of Nain, You saw more than a woman walking in a funeral procession.

You saw her grief.

You saw the loss of her son and the vulnerability of her future.

Your response was σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagchnizomai).

To be moved with deep compassion.To feel another person’s suffering from within.

Teach me to see people as You do.

Slow the judgments I make before I understand the story.

The impatient person may be carrying fear.

The distant person may be protecting a wound.

The difficult person may have learned to survive by keeping everyone away.

This does not make every behavior acceptable.

Compassion does not require me to ignore harm, remove wise boundaries, or remain available for mistreatment.

But it does keep me from reducing a person to the worst thing I have experienced from them.

Give me eyes that notice what others may be carrying.

Help me look beyond usefulness, status, appearance, and first impressions.

When someone needs correction, let me offer it without contempt.

When distance is necessary, let me maintain it without hatred.

When care is possible, keep inconvenience from making me look away.

You saw the widow before she asked You for anything.

Form in me a compassion that pays attention before it acts.

May the people I encounter feel that they have been seen, not merely observed.

Amen.