March 31, 2019
There was a great Jewish rabbi in the nineteenth century – Levi Yitzchok. He lived in the village of Berditchev. He was known throughout Europe as “the Master of the Good Eye.” It was said that he could see nothing of people’s sins, but only their virtues. He’d rouse the local drunk on High Holy days, seat him at the head of the table and respectfully ask for his wisdom. He’d pester a man who publicly flouted the Sabbath by praising him as the only one in the village who wasn’t a hypocrite. He extended his caring to all, whether powerful or impoverished, scholarly or simple, righteous or reprobate. The Master of the Good Eye sought to see everyone with the “Good Eye,” with an eye that saw their highest and holiest potential.
I believe that Jesus had this same “Good Eye.” Where others saw only wickedness, he saw goodness. Where others saw people to be avoided at all costs, he saw others that he wanted to engage and get to know. Where others saw people who were already consigned to the fires of hell, he saw inherent goodness.
For many people were coming to listen to Jesus teach. But it wasn’t just holy people – it was unholy people, the worst sinners – tax collectors, prostitutes – and he wasn’t just teaching them. He was hanging out with them! It was enough to make your blood boil!
But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So, he told some stories:
If you had a hundred sheep, he said, and one of them wandered off into the wilderness and got lost, what would you do? Wouldn’t you leave the 99 others and go in search of the one lost sheep? And when you found it, wouldn’t you carry it joyfully home on your shoulders? You’d have a party to celebrate, because your lost sheep was found! That’s the way it is in heaven – more joy! – when even one lost sinner has strayed and is brought back.
Heaven is also like a woman, he went on, who has ten silver coins, but then she loses one. Can you imagine what she’d do? Well, she’d scour her house up and down! She wouldn’t rest, until she had found the one lost coin. And then she’d call her friends and neighbors to come over for a party, because the coin that was lost had been found. That’s how it is in heaven! The angels have joy – more joy! – over one lost sinner who was found by God.
Then Jesus tells this story:
A man had two sons. One day the younger son came and said, “Father, I don’t want to wait until you die. I want my share of the inheritance now.” As amazing as that was, even more amazingly, the Father divided all his wealth and gave it to his son.
Not long after, the younger son packed up and traveled to a distant land. He lived a wild life and, in short order, lost everything. Then a famine hit the country. There were no jobs to be had and nothing to eat. He finally convinced a man to hire him on – to feed the pigs – the lowest of jobs. He was still so hungry that he almost ate the pig food himself.
Then it finally dawned on him. “The hired hands at my father’s farm have more than enough to eat, while I am dying of hunger. I know what I will do. I will go home and tell Dad I’m sorry. Maybe I can get a job on his farm.”
While he is still a long way off, his father saw him. He was filled with love and compassion. Ignoring all propriety, his father raced out to him. He hugged him and kissed him. The words of confession are barely out of his mouth when the father issued orders.
“Quickly! Bring him the best robe in the house! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Kill the prize calf! We’ve got to have a party! My son was dead, but now is alive; he was lost, but now has been found!” And they began to celebrate.
Now the older son – you remember that this man had two sons – was out working in the field. When he came in, he asked one of the hired hands what was going on.
“Your brother is back. We’re getting ready to have big party to celebrate his safe return.” The older brother became angry and refused to go in.
So, the father came out to him and begged him to come join the party.
But the son said, “That son of yours – no brother of mine! – runs away, screws up his life and then, just because he comes back, you’re throwing a party for him? It’s not fair! I’ve been here all the time. I’ve done everything you’ve asked and you’ve never thrown me a party!”
After a long pause, the father speaks. “Look, son, nothing has changed between you and me. Everything I have is yours. But we just had to celebrate because your brother was dead and is now alive; he was lost and is now found!”
We don’t know what happened to the older brother. Did he stay angry? Did he remain bitter and resentful? Or did he let that go and join the party?
We know what happened to the scribes and the Pharisees. They stayed angry. In fact, they stayed angry long enough to get rid of Jesus.
So, the question remains for us. What will we do?
The Buddhists have what I would call four central virtues – loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity and sympathetic joy. There are meditation practices for each one of them. The one that is most commonly used, among the Buddhists I know, is the meditation for loving-kindness. The one that is the least commonly used is the one for sympathetic joy. It is a practice to take joy in someone else’s successes, to be happy for them, and to wish them even more success.
It’s very natural for parents to do so for their children. It’s even easy enough to do for our close friends. But what happens when success comes to someone who is not so close? Or when someone else’s success seems to come at our expense? He got the girl I was in love with. She got the promotion I deserve. Why do they have so much money?
But what do such thoughts of envy do to us? They keep us trapped in resentment, imprisoned without joy. They keep us from joining the party.
Nelson Mandela was held in prison for 27 years. When he was finally released in 1990, he did so without a longing for revenge, but only a desire to work for positive change in his country.
One of the reasons he did so was the relationships he developed with his captors. As he worked in the limestone quarry, he befriended his jailors, he said, by “exploiting their good qualities.” When he was asked if he believed all people were essentially kind, he responded, “There is no doubt whatsoever, provided you are able to arouse their inherent goodness.”
Nelson Mandela also had, it seems, the “Good Eye.” He was able to use the Good Eye even in the face of his suffering. In fact, he invited one of the prison guards to his inauguration as president of South Africa. Had he not regarded others in this way while he was jailed, he would have remained in prison even after he had been released. But because he did, he increased his joy and lived a truly free man.
So, I invite you to try it for yourself. Try taking joy in the good fortunes of others. Start with the easiest – those closest to you – children, grandchildren, close friends. As you bring them to mind, think:
May your success increase!
May your good fortune double!
May your joy overflow!
Then try it on people you don’t know. Try it as you’re standing in line at the grocery store, or when you go shopping. As you people watch, instead of judging them or envying them, try wishing them success. If you can’t remember those phrases, use the benediction:
May the Lord bless you and protect you!
May the Lord smile upon you and be gracious to you!
May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace!
Then try it on difficult people, people you have a hard time with, people of whom you are jealous or envious – family members, co-workers, neighbors, classmates. It will not be easy. Give it a try, but don’t force it. Just remember that you are trying to see these people as Jesus sees them – with the Good Eye. See if you can look at them differently. Sense what change that brings in you, how you might feel differently.
Finally, turn the Good Eye on yourself. See yourself as Jesus sees you. Look past the shiny, bright self you would like him and everyone else to see. Look past the dark, scary self that you keep so well hidden, the self not even you want to see. Look at yourself as Jesus sees you. Look at yourself with kindness and goodness and compassion and love. When you look at yourself in that way – with the eyes of Jesus – do you see more kindness and goodness and compassion and love in yourself? When you look at yourself with the eyes of Jesus, how do you feel?
When you look at yourself in this way, do you feel closer to God? I’ll tell you what God feels when he looks at you that way. God feels more joy!
I believe that Jesus had this same “Good Eye.” Where others saw only wickedness, he saw goodness. Where others saw people to be avoided at all costs, he saw others that he wanted to engage and get to know. Where others saw people who were already consigned to the fires of hell, he saw inherent goodness.
For many people were coming to listen to Jesus teach. But it wasn’t just holy people – it was unholy people, the worst sinners – tax collectors, prostitutes – and he wasn’t just teaching them. He was hanging out with them! It was enough to make your blood boil!
But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So, he told some stories:
If you had a hundred sheep, he said, and one of them wandered off into the wilderness and got lost, what would you do? Wouldn’t you leave the 99 others and go in search of the one lost sheep? And when you found it, wouldn’t you carry it joyfully home on your shoulders? You’d have a party to celebrate, because your lost sheep was found! That’s the way it is in heaven – more joy! – when even one lost sinner has strayed and is brought back.
Heaven is also like a woman, he went on, who has ten silver coins, but then she loses one. Can you imagine what she’d do? Well, she’d scour her house up and down! She wouldn’t rest, until she had found the one lost coin. And then she’d call her friends and neighbors to come over for a party, because the coin that was lost had been found. That’s how it is in heaven! The angels have joy – more joy! – over one lost sinner who was found by God.
Then Jesus tells this story:
A man had two sons. One day the younger son came and said, “Father, I don’t want to wait until you die. I want my share of the inheritance now.” As amazing as that was, even more amazingly, the Father divided all his wealth and gave it to his son.
Not long after, the younger son packed up and traveled to a distant land. He lived a wild life and, in short order, lost everything. Then a famine hit the country. There were no jobs to be had and nothing to eat. He finally convinced a man to hire him on – to feed the pigs – the lowest of jobs. He was still so hungry that he almost ate the pig food himself.
Then it finally dawned on him. “The hired hands at my father’s farm have more than enough to eat, while I am dying of hunger. I know what I will do. I will go home and tell Dad I’m sorry. Maybe I can get a job on his farm.”
While he is still a long way off, his father saw him. He was filled with love and compassion. Ignoring all propriety, his father raced out to him. He hugged him and kissed him. The words of confession are barely out of his mouth when the father issued orders.
“Quickly! Bring him the best robe in the house! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Kill the prize calf! We’ve got to have a party! My son was dead, but now is alive; he was lost, but now has been found!” And they began to celebrate.
Now the older son – you remember that this man had two sons – was out working in the field. When he came in, he asked one of the hired hands what was going on.
“Your brother is back. We’re getting ready to have big party to celebrate his safe return.” The older brother became angry and refused to go in.
So, the father came out to him and begged him to come join the party.
But the son said, “That son of yours – no brother of mine! – runs away, screws up his life and then, just because he comes back, you’re throwing a party for him? It’s not fair! I’ve been here all the time. I’ve done everything you’ve asked and you’ve never thrown me a party!”
After a long pause, the father speaks. “Look, son, nothing has changed between you and me. Everything I have is yours. But we just had to celebrate because your brother was dead and is now alive; he was lost and is now found!”
We don’t know what happened to the older brother. Did he stay angry? Did he remain bitter and resentful? Or did he let that go and join the party?
We know what happened to the scribes and the Pharisees. They stayed angry. In fact, they stayed angry long enough to get rid of Jesus.
So, the question remains for us. What will we do?
The Buddhists have what I would call four central virtues – loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity and sympathetic joy. There are meditation practices for each one of them. The one that is most commonly used, among the Buddhists I know, is the meditation for loving-kindness. The one that is the least commonly used is the one for sympathetic joy. It is a practice to take joy in someone else’s successes, to be happy for them, and to wish them even more success.
It’s very natural for parents to do so for their children. It’s even easy enough to do for our close friends. But what happens when success comes to someone who is not so close? Or when someone else’s success seems to come at our expense? He got the girl I was in love with. She got the promotion I deserve. Why do they have so much money?
But what do such thoughts of envy do to us? They keep us trapped in resentment, imprisoned without joy. They keep us from joining the party.
Nelson Mandela was held in prison for 27 years. When he was finally released in 1990, he did so without a longing for revenge, but only a desire to work for positive change in his country.
One of the reasons he did so was the relationships he developed with his captors. As he worked in the limestone quarry, he befriended his jailors, he said, by “exploiting their good qualities.” When he was asked if he believed all people were essentially kind, he responded, “There is no doubt whatsoever, provided you are able to arouse their inherent goodness.”
Nelson Mandela also had, it seems, the “Good Eye.” He was able to use the Good Eye even in the face of his suffering. In fact, he invited one of the prison guards to his inauguration as president of South Africa. Had he not regarded others in this way while he was jailed, he would have remained in prison even after he had been released. But because he did, he increased his joy and lived a truly free man.
So, I invite you to try it for yourself. Try taking joy in the good fortunes of others. Start with the easiest – those closest to you – children, grandchildren, close friends. As you bring them to mind, think:
May your success increase!
May your good fortune double!
May your joy overflow!
Then try it on people you don’t know. Try it as you’re standing in line at the grocery store, or when you go shopping. As you people watch, instead of judging them or envying them, try wishing them success. If you can’t remember those phrases, use the benediction:
May the Lord bless you and protect you!
May the Lord smile upon you and be gracious to you!
May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace!
Then try it on difficult people, people you have a hard time with, people of whom you are jealous or envious – family members, co-workers, neighbors, classmates. It will not be easy. Give it a try, but don’t force it. Just remember that you are trying to see these people as Jesus sees them – with the Good Eye. See if you can look at them differently. Sense what change that brings in you, how you might feel differently.
Finally, turn the Good Eye on yourself. See yourself as Jesus sees you. Look past the shiny, bright self you would like him and everyone else to see. Look past the dark, scary self that you keep so well hidden, the self not even you want to see. Look at yourself as Jesus sees you. Look at yourself with kindness and goodness and compassion and love. When you look at yourself in that way – with the eyes of Jesus – do you see more kindness and goodness and compassion and love in yourself? When you look at yourself with the eyes of Jesus, how do you feel?
When you look at yourself in this way, do you feel closer to God? I’ll tell you what God feels when he looks at you that way. God feels more joy!
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