David Whyte's The Opening of Eyes

My Advent meditation takes me to Jesus declaring himself as God in John 8:58. That God would choose to become man is astounding to me. Christmas reminds me of God's humility, first displayed in his earthly birth, followed by quiet childhood we know not much about, and ending with his love displayed on the cross -- an unmerited love towards us -- the greatest demonstration of love there is. 

In David Whyte's poem, the persona takes on a journey of discovery, or a rediscovery ("I knew then, as I had before..."), of the wonder of the great meaning of life. We toil and struggle on these earthly shores, but there comes a time when our pilgrimage comes to an end. I imagine the persona pausing in his journey and beholding, through careful contemplation, with his eyes opened, a vision of eternity -- or heaven, if you will. The vision overwhelms him: this is what he had been longing and searching for after "years of secret conversing / speaking out loud in the clear air."

The great meaning of life can be discovered through an encounter with God: Moses before the burning bush, and each one of us who have been called by God to his holy presence. We will land on a sure foundation, our dirty shoes left behind, because we are approaching holy ground. 

Nanay tells me she imagines heaven as a place where she will finally be embraced by the loving arms of Jesus: forgiven, accepted, loved. 

“The Opening of Eyes”
by David Whyte

That day I saw beneath dark clouds
the passing light over the water
and I heard the voice of the world speak out,
I knew then, as I had before
life is no passing memory of what has been
nor the remaining pages in a great book
waiting to be read.

It is the opening of eyes long closed.
It is the vision of far off things
seen for the silence they hold.
It is the heart after years
of secret conversing
speaking out loud in the clear air.

It is Moses in the desert
fallen to his knees before the lit bush.
It is the man throwing away his shoes
as if to enter heaven
and finding himself astonished,
opened at last,
fallen in love with solid ground.

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Christmas is upon us

Christmas is upon us. Beginning today and until the end of the Christmas season, I'm using the Biola University's Center for Christianity Culture and the Arts (CCCA) 2025 Advent Project. Each day I receive a devotional that  includes a verse to meditate on, a poem, a song/music, and a painting/mural/visual art form. Everything is tied up with a brief meditation.   

Most world religions acknowledge the historic Jesus as a great prophet/teacher. Yet, the trajectory of Scripture from beginning to end proclaims the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and second person of the Trinity, who took on flesh to redeem the world from sin. The Nicene Creed, an early statement of faith recited by Christians for hundreds of years, articulates that Jesus is "the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man."

We understand Jesus to be the visible image of the invisible God. That Christ, the “Great I Am,” would leave the heavenly realm and humble Himself to walk among mere mortals is the awe-inspiring story of Christmas. The real significance of the Nativity is to be found in the incarnation of Christ. Our Advent meditation begins by pondering names that identify Christ as one with the Godhead. Each title has something particular to tell us about the Messiah in His relationship to God the Father. So come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and our God.

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