Pope: if we look at Jesus, we will discover that he "looks at us all, at each one of us"

Jesus "Looks at our big problems, our greatest joys, and also looks at  our little things. Because he is close. Jesus is not afraid of the big things, but also takes the little things into account. So we look at Jesus. " "I go, I look at Jesus, way ahead, our eyes fixed on Jesus and what do I find? He has fixed his gaze on me! And that makes me feel this astonishment. Our encounter with Jesus is astonishment. But we must not be afraid! ".

 

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - If we keep our gaze fixed on Jesus, we will discover with amazement that he does not standardize people, "he looks at us all, at each one of us”, said Pope Francis today during the Mass at Santa Marta, commenting on the passage of the Letter to the Hebrews, in which exhorts us to run in the faith "with perseverance, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus." In the Gospel, Jesus looks at us and sees us.

Pope Francis explained that he is close to us, he "is always in the crowd": “He didn’t walk around with guards to protect him, so that the people could not touch him. No, no! He stayed there and people surrounded him. And there were more people around every time Jesus went out. Statisticians might have been inclined to publish: ‘Rabbi Jesus’ popularity is falling’. But he sought something else: he sought people. And the people sought him. The people had their gaze fixed on him and he had his fixed on them. ‘Yes, yes, on the people, on the multitude’ – ‘No, on each individual!’. This is the peculiarity of Jesus’ gaze: He does not standardize people; He looks at each person.”

The Gospel of Mark narrates two miracles: Jesus heals a woman suffering from hemorrhaging for 12 years who, though pressed by the crowd, was able to touch his cloak. And he realizes that he was touched. Then, he raises the twelve year-old daughter of Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He understands that the girl is hungry and tells her parents to give her something to eat: “The gaze of Jesus falls on both the big and the small. That's how Jesus sees us all: He sees all things, but looks at each of us. He sees our big problems, our greatest joys, and also looks at the little things about us. Because he is close. Jesus is not afraid of the big things, but also takes account of the small ones. That's how Jesus looks at us.”

If we run “with perseverance, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus”, Pope Francis said, “we will be ‘completely astonished’, just as happened to the people after the raising of Jairus’ daughter”: “I go forward, looking at Jesus. I walk ahead, keeping my gaze fixed on Jesus, and what do I find? That he has his gaze fixed on me! And that makes me feel this great astonishment. This is the astonishment of the encounter with Jesus. But let us not be afraid! We are not afraid, just as that woman was not afraid to touch Jesus’ mantle. Let us not be afraid! Let us run down this road with our gaze ever fixed on Jesus. And we will have a beautiful surprise: He will fill us with awe. Jesus himself has his gaze fixed on me.”

• Vatican Pope Francis encounter Jesus