Hidden in Plain Sight
- Gary Fritsch
- Jul 16
- 2 min read
I'm sure you have seen the 'hidden pictures' before. An image that is not immediately visible, and that some people might struggle to see, but once you see it, you can't unsee it. This is actually a great metaphor for faith in God.
Through the parable of the Sower, Jesus teaches His Apostles that we must approach the God with an intent to be 'sown into'. We have to be willing to be changed, we have to be open to being molded, we have to admit we have something to learn. Jesus famously says to them: "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand ANY of the parables." This is why Jesus says in today's Gospel: "although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike." The childlike are open to being taught, they see teachers and parents as knowledgeable and wiser than they are. The wise and the learned often do not want to admit they don't know something, so they scramble to 'figure it out' using their own intellect.
There have been times when I was introduced to a 'hidden picture' and didn't see it right away, and it seemed that no amount of concentration or staring could help me to see it. I had to relax and let it reveal itself to me. As we approach the Word of God, we should do so with welcome and with humility. God wants to be invited in and recognized as what He is: a Good God.
The old Dracula movies would try to put a negative spin on the idea of inviting someone in. They could only enter the home if invited, and when they were invited in, they would mesmerize and then literally suck the life out of the poor sap that invited them in. I don't think this is consciously influencing every person, but we do seem to be cautious about inviting God in and allowing Him to tell us something that will change us. We have to trust, that unlike a vampire, God has only good and life GIVING intentions for us, and once we see His way in things, we will wonder how we ever saw it any differently.
The last little bonus to this is that once we begin to recognize the way God moves, we can begin to see His loving hand all around us - if we are willing to give up being 'wise and learned' in the eyes of the world and become truly wise and learned in the ways of God.
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