Everyone calls it the Christmas story. You probably call it the Christmas story. But the point of the Christmas story is that it is not a story at all. It is a question. But to see that, you have to have the right eyes. Let me explain with another story.

The story of Elisha is also a question. In 2 Kings 6 we find Elisha in a difficult spot. He is a very wanted man, but not in the good sense. The king of Aram wanted him bound and gagged and forcefully brought before him. And for a very good reason. Israel and Aram were at war with each other, but every time the king of Aram made a move to gain a strategic advantage, he was thwarted.  Originally, he was sure there was a spy among his top military advisors, but they quickly set him straight. The problem was Elisha. Whenever the king of Aram planned an attack, the prophet received a word from God which was then passed on to the king of Israel. Aram’s advisors said it this way: “Elisha, the prophet, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” I’m sure they didn’t mean it to be funny, but I always chuckle when I read that line and think about how the king must have felt realizing his innermost secrets were being broadcast to Israel. In any case, as a result of Elisha’s spying, Israel was always one step ahead of the Arameans. And the king of Aram was sick of it and ordered his men to find and capture Elisha. The finding of the prophet must not have been that difficult. News quickly surfaced that Elisha was in Dothan. Immediately, the king sent out a “strong force” to apprehend Elisha. This force set out on foot, on horse and in chariots; and when they reached Dothan, it was night. And so, they surrounded the town and waited for morning.

Early the next morning, Elisha’s servant got up and went outside. He had business to attend to, but when he scanned the horizon, he had the fright of his life. He saw the army of Aram ready to storm the town. And he also saw there was no escape. In a panic, he ran back inside to Elisha and shouted, “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” Apparently, Elisha had also seen the Arameans; and while they were threatening, he wasn’t threatened.  Instead, he said to his servant, “Don’t be afraid.” Now, there are times to panic and there are times not to panic. Elisha’s servant obviously thought this was a time to panic. But Elisha didn’t think so and for good reason. And when the time was right, he said to his servant, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Now, to Elisha’s servant, it must have been clear that his master had gone around the bend because he knew there was no one with them. They were all alone against an army of angry soldiers from Aram. But then, Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” And miraculously, the servant’s eyes saw what Elisha saw. Between Elisha and the army of Aram was another army, an invisible army, an army full of angels, horses and chariots of fire. And there was peace in Elisha’s house because there were more angels on Elisha’s side than there were soldiers on Aram’s side. But instead of unleashing this “angelic strong force” on Aram, God strikes them down with blindness. And in this helpless state, they surrendered. And Elisha carted them all off to the king of Israel. It is a great story. But more than that, it is a question: Do we see what God is doing?

Every great story is a question. The Christmas story asks: What do we see? Do we see God’s grace and love and goodness pouring down upon us to forgive our sins and to give us life? Or do we only see a tree and decorations and presents? It’s an important question because lots of people never see Christmas. They just don’t have the spiritual eyes. Herod and his advisors, for instance, saw nothing out of the ordinary, just another poor mother and child. The people of Jerusalem saw an entourage of Magi, but could not see why they had come such a distance. The people of Bethlehem were quite satisfied with looking, but not seeing. And when Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to Jerusalem, no one except Simeon and Anna saw anything special. Everyone else had eyes, but they could not see what God was doing. It is as John Lubbock said, “What we see depends mainly on what we look for.” And if we want to go a little darker, then we can see the insight given to us by G.K. Chesterton, “There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect.”

But a conversation in the Bible about eyes that refuse to see is nothing new. There are numerous passages in the Old Testament, in particular, where this theme becomes very visible, especially in the prophets. Four quick examples prove this. Isaiah 42:18 records the prophet’s words to the nation. There, we read:

“Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!”

 Isaiah 44:18 reiterates the same idea:

“They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over
so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.”

Jeremiah also condemns the people for their lack of sight. In Jeremiah 5:21, we read:

“Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear. . . .”

And Ezekiel also speaks to this issue. But it is in Ezekiel 12:2 that we get to the true heart of the matter:

“Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people.
They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear,
for they are a rebellious people.”

Since it is Christmas, let us all remember the gift Søren Kierkegaard gave us when he said,

“When you read God’s Word, you must constantly be saying to yourself,
‘It is talking to me and about me.’”

And that means the question we must ask ourselves is, “Do we have eyes to see or are we blind?”

But the news is not all bad. While there are plenty of passages that speak of Israel’s spiritual blindness, there are many others that invite all of us to see all that God is doing. For instance, Psalm 34:8 says,

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 66 offers the same invitation (vs. 1-2, 5),

“Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.
Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!”

 And this invitation permeates the Christmas story. Mary, in Luke 1, acknowledges that she sees what God is doing and responds (Lk. 1:38):

“I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

And Mary proves that she most certainly sees what God is doing in her song. She says (Lk. 1:46-55):

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham
and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

The shepherds also saw that God was on the move.  The angels appeared to them and told them the good news. And when the angel choir had departed, the shepherds said (Lk. 2:15):

“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.”

And when Simeon held the baby Jesus on the temple grounds, he praised God, saying (Lk. 2:29-32):

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

They saw and they rejoiced in God’s salvation. Others looked, but saw nothing; but these people saw and realized that God was on the move to bring grace and healing and redemption to the world.

And while that seems like a great place to bring this post to an end, you really can’t tell a story about “seeing” without at least mentioning the healing of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by, he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” And Jesus stopped and said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And Bartimaeus said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” That is a true response of faith. That’s also the gift of Christmas.

Here’s the good news: If we are blind, we can be healed. If we see things, but they are a bit fuzzy and hardly move us into action, we can be changed. We can be given a new heart and a new set of eyes.  If our eyes seem to be working fine, but we can only see fear and failure and futility like Elisha’s servant, God can give us peace. And all we need are the eyes to see the invisible God. And the Christmas story tells us God is very visible for he is God with us—the God who is very present. And the Christmas story even tells us that not only does God invite us to see and to taste of his goodness, grace and love, but he comes seeking us so that we might see our need, seek his mercy and find healing. God is on the move to make his presence known to you. So, here’s today’s question: Can you see him?