Fourth Sunday in Lent A. March 21, 2004. Our Lady of Grace 7:30, 11:30, 6PM. 1 Samuel 16: 1b, 6-7, 10- 13a. Ephesians 5: 8-14. John 9: 1-41.

Helen Keller was less than two years old when she came down with a fever that left her unconscious for a while and both deaf and blind for the rest of her life. Helen was completely cut off from the outside world. She could neither see, hear, nor speak. Imprisoned in quiet and darkness, Helen grew into a wild and unruly child who giggled to express pleasure and kicked and screamed to express anger. What else could she do? Except for her sense of touch she was completely alone. When Helen Keller was about six years old a teacher came into her life who taught Helen to see with her mind and her heart and thereby to overcome her blindness and deafness. Anne Sullivan taught Helen to read by writing letters on the palm of her hand. Helen began to see the world very clearly, even though she was blind. She became a strong advocate for racial equality and the rights of women. She worked hard to better the lives of those who suffered from disabilities of any kind. She wrote twelve books, visited 35 countries and met six Ameican presidents. Helen Keller taught us something very important. She taught us that we see and hear with our minds and our hearts and not just with our eyes and ears.

“The Pharisees said to the man born blind, “Give God the praise! We know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner.” The man born blind said, “If he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” They ridiculed him and said, “We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man (Jesus) comes from.” (Later) 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.” Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin, but now you are saying ‘We see,’ so you sin remains.”

The Pharisees show us that we see with our minds and hearts even more than with our eyes and ears. No matter how good our vision or hearing is, our minds and hearts have the final say about what we see, hear and believe. If we are not willing to see and hear with open minds and hearts we will never really meet Jesus or understand his teaching.

Two people can look at a person of another race and one will see a brother or a sister, and the other will see an enemy or a threat. The difference is not in what they see with their eyes, but in what they see with their minds and hearts.

Two people can look at on unborn child. One will see a human person with all the rights and protections of a human person and the other will see a mass of human cells without rights or protection. The difference is not in what the eyes sees but in what the mind and heart wants to believe.

Two people can look at a condemned criminal waiting to be executed. One will see the horrible crime the person has committed. The other person will see the dignity of every human life, even sinful human life. The heart guides what we will see.

Two people can look at the same gift of sexuality. One will see it as a gift to be protected and cherished within the sacred relationship of marriage, and the other will see it as a pleasure to be sought after without discipline and restraint. The difference is not in what the two people see. The difference is in what the two people allow themselves to believe.

Once a young journalist wanted to do a story on Hell. He asked if he could make a quick trip to hell and back, just to look around for awhile. One thing in Hell really baffled him. All over Hell there were bags of things that looked like beans. The young man asked the devil about the bags of beans. The devil replied, “Those are not beans. They are our most important weapon in getting human beings into Hell. The bags are filled with the seeds of discouragement. Whenever something difficult happens on earth we spread the seeds of discouragement everywhere. On 9/11 we spread the seeds of discouragement all over New York City and throughout the world. When the economy dropped and people lost all kinds of money we spread the seeds of discouragement all over the world. The scandals in the Catholic Church were a wonderful time for us. We spread the seeds of discouragement everywhere.” The young man said, “But why are the seeds of discouragement so important?” The devil said, “When people are discouraged they think the world is going to Hell. When people think the world is going to Hell they let themselves slide that direction too. Discouragement is our number on weapon against the human race.” The young man said, “Is there nothing that can defend people against the seeds of discouragement?” After looking at the ground for a long time the devil said, “I will tell you a secret. Seeds of discouragement never grow in a grateful heart. No matter what a person sees or hears, if his or her heart is filled with gratitude the seeds of discouragement lose all their power.”

Even the devil knows that human beings are never guided by their eyes and ears alone. Human beings are guided by the things that fill their minds and hearts. The healing of the blind man points us beyond blind eyes to blind hearts. May the grateful hearts that Christ gives us help us to see God’s goodness and God’s guidance in all things.