Just One Look

And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord… (Lk 22:61)

It began when the Lord looked Peter straight in the eye. This part always gets to me—Jesus didn’t even need to say a word. Right when the rooster crowed, Jesus looked at him, and he remembered the word of the Lord and wept bitterly.

In our journey of faith, we may become numb toward God. Sermons become repetitive and boring. Holy work becomes a routine. Without noticing, we may begin to care more about our own desires instead of serving Jesus and fellow brothers and sisters. God becomes an extracurricular activity instead of the center of our lives. We may be willing to suffer for Jesus, but are unable to. We may have denied Jesus.

However, Jesus loves and cares for us. When we have wandered, He looks at us and brings us to realization. This is when something clicks in our head and we wake up. “What was I thinking? What have I been doing?” It may be a message in a sermon, the lyrics of a hymn, a thought that pops up in prayer, or something a church member says to us. Suddenly, we remember His words.

We remember that we are not our own, but belong to God—we were created to serve Him and not ourselves. Just one look from Jesus can make us realize how far we have deviated from the right path. Just one look is enough to bring us to bitter weeping.

Today, many of us know what is right. We know the teachings of Jesus. We know what we have to do. However, we may have forgotten and strayed like Peter, without even noticing. Let us respond to Jesus’ wake-up call by making a determination to return to Him and remain faithful.

Question for Reflection:

How might Jesus give you a wake-up call today?