The Healing of Ten Leperes by James Tissot (between 1886 and 1894)

To see or not to see, that is the question
‘Tis certainly easier to turn a blind eye to the walking wounded
Those passed by in the world’s turning and to ensure my standing
To consign them to some modern day leper’s colony
The unclean and the unseen

To see or not to see, that is the question
In a time where all the suffering of the world pours in digitally
It would be so easy to disconnect from the groaning of the world
And to blame the victim for the suffering they cause me
The untouchable and the unwanted

To see or not to see, that is the calling
The world around me calls me not to see, not to care, not to believe it matters
The kingdom calls for eyes that see and ears that hear with soft hearts
To see Christ in the victim and God in the suffering
The crucified and the scandalous

Yet many who should see are blind
And among the ones who see are those who seem to come from a different fold
In all of it the kingdom is there in the midst of us, in the love and hate
In the midst of real lives and real stories
The seen and the unseen

Neil White, 2013