Last Monday afternoon, I heard the front door chime to alert me to the fact that someone was coming into the hall. As I looked down the foyer I saw two police officers in their vivid fluorescent jackets heading towards the office. A brief conversation made their purpose clear – they had come in to collect a copy of our hall CCTV footage relating to a theft that had taken place in our building a few weeks earlier. Jackie showed the officers footage of the suspect entering the hall and quickly departing a few minutes later. Even though the actual theft was out of the shot of the CCTV camera, the man in question was clearly up to no good and gives a good image of himself entering our hall. On seeing the footage of the man’s face one of the officers responded, “I think I’ve seen him before”. She couldn’t put a name to the face and her colleague quickly added “One of the other officers at the station might recognise him”. In this case, the suspect made the mistake of providing our cameras with a good glimpse of his face and so there is every chance he may be recognised by someone.
I admire the patience of police officers tasked with looking through hours or CCTV film in order to try to recognise certain individuals. The concentration required must be immense. Some high profile convictions have come about through the diligent work of the person watching hours of film. If it were me doing such a job I would probably sneeze at the point the suspect walks in front of the camera and in the blink of an eye would miss him! Seeking a face … I read the following article during my quiet time this week which I found helpful and so share it with you:
“We sense we need greater acuteness to detect Christ's presence in every moment of our life. We love this world that is ours, the place where we encounter God, and we want to acquire a greater facility to perceive Christ's look while occupied with our daily tasks. We also want others to be able to see Christ in us; we are moved by the marvellous possibility of making Jesus' face present to our friends. The Gospels allude on various occasions to Jesus' look. A warm and affectionate look, moved and moving, a profoundly knowing gaze that penetrates to the depths of a person's heart; a look that teaches and corrects, that moves to repentance, that provokes a sudden impulse to generosity.”
Seeking out and recognising the face of Jesus is something we should each try to do on a daily basis and so this Lent time here’s a little prayer I am going to try to make more often.
Lord, may I seek your face, may I learn to find it and to show it to others.
May I know how to discover you in the ordinary happenings of my life.
Every blessing,
Major Adrian