Fourth
Sunday of Lent B.
March 26, 2006. Our Lady of Grace 5:15 and 11:30. I Samuel
16:1b. 6-7, 10-13a. Ephesians 5:8-14. John
9:1-41.
I saw my neighbor in her
pain and knew that she was sad,
I saw only her and
not the Lord; I missed the face of God.
I saw a teenager on
drugs and knew that he was wrong,
I saw only a confused
and wayward kid and missed my suffering Lord.
I saw a woman of the
street and knew that she was bad,
I saw only the sin
and not the woman; I missed the child of God.
I saw myself with all
my sins and thought that I was lost,
I saw only myself
with all my faults and I missed the love of God.
I always thought that
I could see but now I know I was wrong.
For without the sight
that only faith can give,
We can not see at
all.
Two people experience the same aggressive driver – one sees
an occasion to get angry and the others sees an opportunity to be patient and kind.
The first person greets the angry driver with a wicked finger, adding to the
stress in both of their lives. The second driver waves
and smiles, giving the angry person a little dose of kindness to brighten the
day. Some see the face of Christ everywhere and seek to love him in the
cranky and confused people of the world. Some see only the dark side of
things and their spiritual blindness adds to the confusion and darkness around
them.
Two people experience the same unexpected pregnancy.
One person sees the situation as a disaster, the other person sees it as a very
challenging, yet very real opportunity. Two people experience the same
weakness. One sees it as another reason to lose hope; the other sees it
as a pressing reason to trust God. Two people experience the loss of a
job or a spouse. One sees the situation as the end of the world.
The other person sees the situation as painful, but also as an opportunity to
choose again and to live a second time.
The most important part of seeing is not what we do with our
eyes but what we hold in our hearts. Some looked upon the Cross of Jesus
and saw only a cruel execution – another example of human brutality and
torture. We look upon the Cross of Jesus and see the act of love that saved
the world. The hatred of the crowds and the cruelty of the executioners
fade away for us. When we look at the Cross we see the proof of God’s
love for us, no matter how lost or sinful we are. In the end, it is our
hearts that determine the meaning of what we see. Without faith we miss
the deepest meaning of every image that touches our eyes. Blind people
often see more deeply and clearly than people with physical sight because those
who are blind are forced by their physical limits to see people and events in their
hearts.
“When Jesus heard that the Pharisees had thrown out the
man he had healed who had been born blind, Jesus found him and said, ‘Do you
believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered and said, ‘who is he, sir, that I
many believe in him?’ Jesus said, ‘You have seen him. He is
speaking to you now.’ The man who had been blind said, ‘I do believe
Lord,’ and he worshipped him.’ ”
The words of Jesus to the Pharisees are very harsh. In
the end they will crucify Jesus for speaking the hard truth to them.
Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not
see might see and those who do see might become blind.”