“I See You”

Acts 3: 1-10

Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, September 22, 2024

Many of you know that I love languages. When we lived in Africa, I especially enjoyed studying Sango and Swahili. I’m sorry I never learned Pidgin, the language spoken in much of northwest and southwest Cameroon, so if anyone wants to teach me a few phrases, I’m interested.

Another language I never learned was Zulu, but I recently discovered a greeting in that language:  Sawubona! (Try saying it.) Sawubona! It literally means “I see you,” but it’s more than just a polite greeting. “Sawubona” conveys the idea of recognizing the worth and dignity of each person. It says, “You are valuable to me.” I see you.

This phrase “I see you” has become part of our popular conversation. It may have started with the movie Titanic, when Kate Winslet’s character Rose says to Jack (played by Leonardo diCaprio) “You have a gift Jack. You see people.”  He replies, “I see you,”  meaning he sees her for who she really is inside, not just a little rich girl, about to be married off to a wealthy man as a kind of prize.

Rather Jack sees what kind of person Rose is, her hopes and dreams. He sees her as a person, not just a beautiful ornament on a rich man’s arm.

Director James Cameron used this line again in the science fiction movie Avatar. The Na’vi people live on the planet Pandora, in the Alpha Centauri system. They greet each other with the words, “I see you,” meaning “I understand and accept you.” In the movie, “I see you” becomes a way of expressing understanding and even love between members of two different species – the Na’vi and humans, a metaphor for relationship between people of different races, cultures, and tribes.  

In the passage we read from Acts, Peter and John were headed for the Temple to pray,  probably making their way through a large crowd of people. It would have been easy to have passed by the lame beggar without stopping. Yet when he asked them for alms, Peter paused and looked at him intently. Perhaps at that moment Peter could even have said, “I see you. I see you as a human being, I accept you as a person of worth and dignity. You are valuable to me and to God.”  Then he gave the man what he had – not money, but healing and hope in Christ.

This brief encounter leads me to wonder, do we really always see others? Or are some people invisible to us? Do we sometimes only see what we want to see, or who we want to see? Maybe we look the other way, because if we really see someone, we may have to act. Unhoused people comment that one of the worst things about living on the street is that people pass them by without even looking their way, ignoring them, as if they didn’t even exist. Is this what Jesus would have done?

Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you have done it for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you have done it unto me.” When we look into the face of another person, do we see the face of Jesus? Maybe that is why Peter stopped and looked at the beggar intently. Maybe he was thinking of Jesus’ words. Of course, we don’t necessarily have to give money to everyone, especially if we think they would use it in a harmful way. Peter and John did not have money, but they had the capacity to heal the man – a wonderful gift! We may only have a smile or a kind word to give, but that is something. It acknowledges the other person’s humanity and value as a human being.

It’s worth noting that Peter’s gift empowered the man. Now that he was healed, he could work and provide for his own needs. Although we may not have the ability to empower everyone in need, it is good to support organizations which do, such as Downtown Street Team, which gives volunteer work experience to the unhoused right here in San José. We will have an opportunity to support them through our offerings on World Communion Sunday in two weeks. For our Alternative Christmas Giving, our young people are raising funds for farming tools, seeds, livestock and more for people in developing nations where PCUSA Global Missions is working. Helping others become self-sufficient is one of the greatest gifts we can give.

But – back to Peter. Before he did anything, he looked intently at the beggar. He saw him. What keeps us from really seeing other people, from truly being able to say, “I see you”? Sometimes stereotypes get in our way. There is a saying, “You only see what you want to see.” Do we lump certain people together in a category with negative qualities?

If we have a preconceived notion that a particular group of people are lazy, dishonest, and unworthy of our help, we won’t be able to see someone from that group as a beloved child of God, with dignity and worth. God sees us all as individuals, unique and irreplaceable. We need to learn to see others that way, too, regardless of what group they may belong to.

It may also be hard for us to really see others because we lack empathy, that is, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy can be learned; lack of empathy is really just a lack of imagination. Steven Pinker, in his book The Better Angels of Our Nature, points out that reading stories about people’s lives, whether fiction or biography, can help make us more empathetic. For example, when we read about the protagonist of a novel we begin to empathize with that person, even though we have never met them. If the protagonist is from a different ethnic or socio-economic class than we are, we tend to view members of that group more favorably.

Anything that helps us see life from another’s perspective can help us learn empathy, whether a good book, movie, or work of art.

Before passing judgement on someone, pause and take time to think about what life might be like for that other person. We’ve all heard the adage, “Don’t criticize a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.” When I am tempted to judge another harshly, I remind myself, “There but for the grace of God go I.” If I had undergone that person’s experiences in life, I might very well do the same thing. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor. If we are judging harshly, we are not loving.

And most of us want to be kind and loving – or at least to be seen that way. We intend to do what is right, but maybe we don’t see other people due to the busyness of our own lives, and our focus on our own difficulties. Maybe we are just too stressed to take on someone else’s pain, even if momentarily. I think God understands that. At the same time, reaching out to help a fellow human being is one of the best ways to forget our own problems. There is joy is knowing we are working together with God for the healing of the world.

         Santa Teresa Hills Presbyterian is known as a church where people care about each other and get along. That doesn’t mean we always agree on everything, but we treat each other with respect and try to listen to each other’s viewpoints. Those are rare gifts in a congregation. I asked some “old-timers” how our church got that way. Someone told me of an interim pastor some years ago who was kind and gentle, who modeled what it meant to respect others, to really listen, to see other people as beloved children of God. I appreciated that. I am sure his influence is not the only thing that has helped us learn to value and respect each other, but it shows the impact one person can have.

We have started on a good path. Let’s continue on it. One of the things that can help, is if we make an effort to see one another – to notice each other. We are only together for an hour or two a week. Take the time to greet those you don’t know as well. Find out a bit about their lives, their joys and their struggles. Is there anything you can do to help? Sometimes just saying, “I’ll pray for you this week” – and meaning it – or sending a card or an encouraging text message can make a difference.

Here is the best news of all: God sees us. God really sees us – for who we are, as we are, warts and all, and God loves us anyway. God accepts us. God cares for us, each of us. One of the earliest names for God in the Bible is “The God Who Sees.” Out of jealousy, Sarah sent her slave Hagar out into the desert to die. Hagar cries out to the Lord, who hears her, telling her that she will bear a son, Ishmael, who will have many descendants. After this encounter, Hagar actually gives God a name, saying “You are El-roi,” the God who sees me. And she names the well where she encountered God “Beer-lahai-roi,” “the well of the Living One who sees me.” The Psalmist wrote, “Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who reverence him, on those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 33:18) God sees us. In this we can rejoice.

So the next time you see someone begging, or someone who looks sad or depressed, try to see them, try to understand what they may be going through. See them as a person, worthy of respect and dignity, a child of God. And you, too, will have a small part in the healing of the world. Sawubona! I see you. Amen.

©Deborah Troester 2024