seeing Jesus in annoying people

My friend Fran recently wrote a blog post entitled “Want to meet Jesus? Look into the face of pretty much everyone that annoys you, for starters anyway.” The essay is based on Matthew 25:31-46. (“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink…”) Fran says:

If we do not see Jesus in every face of sorrow and suffering, if we do not see Jesus in every face of despair, if we do not see Jesus in every face of every person who annoys, irritates and upsets us… If we do not see Jesus in the face of every person that we capriciously judge, then we do not see Jesus at all. This kind of stinks because I am easily annoyed and highly judgmental. I see Jesus all over the place and then brush him off. I hate writing that but it is true. Don't we all?

Thank you for that, Fran.

I can't answer the “Don't we all?” question. I can answer the question, “I know I do.”

Fran's blog post got me to thinking about how, instead of like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, who had her favorite things (“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens”), I have my list of people and things that annoy and irritate me.

Overweight men in motorized wheelchairs. Hummers (and you know I don't mean hummingbirds). Cadillac Escalades. Lincoln Navigators. Heavy men in sleeveless shirts whose arms are covered with tattoos. Men walking down the street smoking cigarettes. Redneck men driving pickups with over-sized tires and an ultra-high suspension. Men working in their front yards shirtless who should not ever be shirtless in public. Motorcyclists on cycles whose decibel level exceeds 100. Adults who ride their bicycles on sidewalks. Teenagers who blast through stop signs on their bicycles without stopping or even looking. Women (and men), especially in SUV's, ignoring the California hands-free law and holding their cell phone up to their ear while driving.

I spoke to my spiritual director about this. She said I should write all of these down on paper. Then I should pray for all of them. And I should ask where Christ is in each of them.

Thank you for that, Linda.

We are human beings. There is always more work to be done.