People see God every day, they just don't recognize him

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. ~St. Augustine
　
Gospel text (Mc 6,53-56):
After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.

When I first read today’s Gospel, this was the verse that grabbed my attention because of one word: “immediately.” People immediately recognized Jesus. There was no hesitation. But why? Jesus didn’t look any different. He was called a great teacher, and maybe even a wise prophet, but why did they immediately recognize him? I think it is because they were looking with the eyes of faith. The people heard stories of this man named Jesus, who cured lepers and gave sight to the blind. They believed he could cure their sick and because of their faith, many were cured.

So many times I miss seeing God because I focus on worldly things, or I have to search in order to find him in a certain situation. We probably all have those times when we feel as if God is hiding from us, but if we only open the eyes of our heart, we would see him at work in every aspect of our lives. God gives us the opportunity to see him in our lives multiple times each day. Some people call them coincidences, but I firmly believe that those times are the hand of God guiding us along the right path. It comes when a stranger smiles at us as we are walking along the street, or when someone holds the door open as we walk through.

There is a story of a man who was supposed to fly home to southern California from a business trip in Boston, but his alarm clock did not wake him up and, as a result, he missed the bus to the airport. He missed his ride on United Airlines flight 175 and was frustrated with himself for not getting up on time. Shortly thereafter, he watched in horror as United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center, for it was the morning of September 11, 2001.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence that the man’s alarm clock failed to awaken him, but I think that is how God works. God does not walk around, working incredible miracles that cause dozens to believe him. Instead, I think he works through the roundabout ways. He shows us his care when an anonymous person picks up our bill at the restaurant. He reveals his beauty and majesty when we pause for a moment and watch the sunrise early one morning. And whenever we behold an image of Christ hanging upon the cross, he whispers softly into our hearts. “I love you THIS much.”