Reading 1: Encounter the Word

Open my eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus.
To reach out and touch him and show that we love Him.
Open my ears, Lord and help us to listen.

Open our eyes Lord, we want to see Jesus. 

This hymn (#98 in the African American Lutheran Resource Book) is used by various races of people as the Gospel Proclamation in Sunday worship. The words of this powerful hymn guide us as we strive to encounter the living Word of Scripture.

Open our eyes, we pray. Oh Lord, let us see the will of God for us. Let us see with our mind’s eye the wonderful work of God enfleshed by the prophets in their words and deeds holding in tension the laws and the justice of God.

Open our eyes, we pray. Oh Lord, let us see the unconditional love of God for us. Let us see with our mind’s eye the unconditional love and mercy of God visible in the work of Jesus to make that which is broken whole. We see it in the ultimate self-giving love of the crucified and risen Jesus.

Open our ears, Lord, and help us to listen. Oh, Lord, help us to hear; to listen deeply to the pain and troubles of the world.

Open our ears, Lord. Empower us to hear the proclamation of Jesus’s love for us and for the world.

As we reflect on the words written in Romans, help us to see and to hear the living Word and what that message means for our lives. For when we are attuned to the Word of God, we strive to reach out and touch Him and say that we love Him.

Open my eyes, Lord, I want to see Jesus. To reach out and touch him and show that I love Him. Open my ears, Lord and help me to listen. Amen.

–The Rev. Dr. Julius Carroll enjoys going to the movies, reading African American fiction and non-fiction, and watching his favorite professional football team, the Philadelphia Eagles.