By the Way: What are we missing?

By Nancy Cocks on January 11, 2025.

I joined a new network this year – as one more person who has had cataract surgery. The lens implant gives me clarity of vision I haven’t had for decades! Yet as I identify new wrinkles on my cheeks, I wonder what else I’ve been missing.

Churches are marking the season of Epiphany right now. Epiphany explores the vision that emerges as Jesus begins his ministry. What could Jesus see in the situations he encountered. Or more precisely, who it was he focused on?

He could see people whom others avoided – lepers who were judged “unclean;” Samaritans who were judged for their religious beliefs; beggars who were judged for their need. Jesus befriended women in a culture that devalued their roles. Jesus gave his attention to children in a culture that ignored them. Jesus shared meals with those on the fringes of the community. Jesus saw the humanity in people others turned away from.

With my newly focused vision, I ask myself who have I been missing? It’s a question worthy of pondering in this new year. We tend to turn away from people we judge from the outside – by appearance, by religious affiliation, by age, gender or need.

We miss their humanity and never consider what we share with each other. We turn away from those we disagree with without understanding their stories and seeing how they came to think differently from us. We miss their perspectives and never consider what we could learn from each other.

Following Jesus challenges me to focus on what I’ve been missing because of my unexamined assumptions. Following Jesus challenges me to look for what I share with people I might otherwise walk past.

Ask yourself if you’ve been missing anything in the people around you – on the street, in the office, wherever you spend some time. Maybe it’s time to take a closer look and see them in a new light.

Rev. Nancy Cocks is a retired Presbyterian minister

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