Looking and Perceiving: Their role in Putting on Christ

The key words in both of yesterday's readings, Acts 6: 8-15 and Jn 6: 22-29, is "look."  In
Acts, people looked upon Stephen whose face looked like the face of an angel but was perceived as an evil man. As reported in the first reading of today's liturgy,  Acts 7: 51-8:1a, Stephen was stoned to death.  In yesterday's Gospel,  the crowd is looking for Jesus. Immediately, He  sees that they are really looking for another meal and are not at all interested in His teachings or that He is the Holy One sent by the Father to show them, by His service to the poor, the oppressed, the sick and marginalized of his society,  the way to eternal life. 

For what and for whom am I looking? Am I looking for salvation, truth, redemption? Am I seeking Jesus as my Savior? Or am I looking for something else of less importance?  Is my seeking about me or about the Kingdom of God, about God's will "here on earth as it is in heaven"?

In looking at others, through which "set" of eyes is my perception formed? Do I see the divine or do I see shortcomings, weaknesses and evil? Do I, like Stephen's executioners in today's first reading, turn others into objects of scorn, subject to judgment and condemnation? Or do I see others as God sees them: as his beloved sons/daughters, images of the divine, persons whom God has called to become one with the Father as Jesus and the Father are one? Do I see others as perfect in Christ Jesus, as persons loved unconditionally by God and in the process of being sanctified by the circumstances of their lives?  Whichever perception I choose, one will lead me to life with Christ; the other will alienate me from knowing and loving as Christ does and will blind me to Christ's love for me.