Docents of Glory: Gerard Manley Hopkins (6)

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off. 
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139.1-3

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed…” Luke 10.41, 42

Alone
One of the lingering effects leftover from the existential moment of the ‘50s and ‘60s is the sense that many people have of being all alone in the world. Existentialism encouraged such thinking, with the idea that this would empower us to break free of outside influences and efforts to manipulate us, so that we could discover our true and authentic selves.

Instead of empowering people, though, such thinking has left many people feeling misunderstood, uncared for, isolated, hopeless, and despairing. Couple this with the surge in narcissistic thinking which began in the ‘70s and continues unabated to this day, and the feeling of loneliness can quickly morph into feelings of fear and dread.

A wide range of social agencies, including government, have recognized this situation and provide programs, counseling, and a variety of community activities to overcome the loneliness people feel and let them know that someone actually cares.

But if caring for others ever became a way of life, let’s say, among the members of the Christian community, I rather suspect that the need for social programs, anti-depressant medications, and individual therapy would begin rapidly to decline.

First, observe
But before we will care enough about people to pray earnestly for them and look for ways to encourage and assist them, we’ll first have to take note of them. And here we can turn to Gerard Manley Hopkins for a glimpse at the form such attentiveness might take. Here’s his poem, “Lantern”:

Sometimes a lantern moves along the night,
   That interests our eyes. And who goes there?
   I think; where from and bound, I wonder, where
With, all down darkness, his wading light?
Men go by me whom either beauty bright
   In mould or mind or what not else makes rare:
   They rain against our much-thick and marsh air
Rich beams, till death or distance buys them quite.

Death or distance soon consumes them: wind
   What most I may eye after, be in at the end
I cannot, and out of sight is out of mind.

Christ minds: Christ’s interest, what to avow or amend
   There, eyes them, heart wants, care haunts, foot follows kind,
Their ransom, their rescue, and first, fast, last friend.

Sometimes, Hopkins says, he’d see someone wandering the streets at night, and his mind would begin to wonder about them – who they are, where they’re going, why they’re out at night. Mostly, he says, we tend to take note of the “beautiful people” – those who appear to have it all together in life. They seem to be doing so much better than we are – fresh rain compared to the “much-thick and marsh air” which is our lives – and we don’t consider that one day they, too, will die. And perhaps they’re thinking about that? And all this outward show of body, mind, or what not else is just that, as inwardly they may feel as lonely as Hopkins did much of the time?

And then they’re gone, whether by distance or death, and we don’t think about them anymore: Out of sight, out of mind.

Christ cares
But Jesus cares for them, just as He cares for us. He pays attention to them, sustains them, shakes and oozes out His glory in 10,000 places to get their attention. Jesus loves people. He “haunts” them by His Spirit, Who woos and strives to get their attention; He follows them wherever they go, seeking to ransom, rescue, and befriend them.

With Jesus, there is no “out of sight is out of mind.” And as Jesus is mindful of all people, and attends to their needs, seeking to draw them to Himself – though they heed or thank Him not – we must learn to be and do as well. Whether the people around seem to have it all together, are putting on airs, or are obviously in need of encouragement, Jesus has sent us to embody His love and communicate His care.

Pray for the people God has put in your life. Let them occupy your thoughts and command your attention. Then look for ways to flow the living water of Jesus’ love to them, as often as you can.

For reflection
1.  How do you feel when someone offers a kind gesture or encouraging word? Would you like to experience more of that? Meditate on Matthew 7.12.

2.  Do you pray for the people in your sphere of influence? Read through Jesus’ prayer in John 17. Does this suggest any ways you might begin praying for the people you see each day?

3.  How can you see from Jesus’ own example that caring for others and sharing the Good News with them must go hand-in-hand?

Next steps: Begin praying daily for the people you will see that day. Ask the Lord to prepare you to show His care for them, if only – indeed, especially – in small ways. At the end of the day, review your day before the Lord in prayer, and give Him thanks for the ways He showed His care for others through you.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.