Awakening from Sleep

Fourth Sunday of Lent

1 Sam 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Eph 5: 8-14; John 9: 1-41

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

There are all kinds of ways for a person to “see”.  And todays readings talk about many of them.   

First, Samuel had his vision about what to look for in a King.  He was looking for the tall, powerful, self-confident commanding type; the kind you think about when you imagine a King.  But God was looking for a man after His own heart.  So, the two did not “see” eye to eye on what the best attributes of a King were.  Their perspectives were different.  Indeed, we see differently according to what we are looking for.  Perspective can blind us to discovering the truth and God’s will.   

Then there is Paul’s description of the deeds of men.  Basically, Paul points out that we see the same thing differently when it is bright and illuminated than we do when it is shrouded in darkness and shadows.  What is hidden from others to see may be terribly flawed when viewed in brightness and light.  Indeed, one can hide the truth from people using darkness and obscurity; but that doesn’t change the truth.  So, we can be deceived by what we don’t see in the full picture of things; or worse yet, attracted to the dark side of something that is bad for us.     

And then there is the blind man in the Gospel.  He cannot see with his eyes; and so he has learned to “see” with his other senses.   Jesus gives him his physical sight; but his ability to “see” with his other senses has served him well because he recognized God in Jesus.   This great faith in God served him well in standing up to the Pharisees and in moving forward.in life.  This man, even though he gained his physical sight and could then function in his world, followed after Jesus and sought the kingdom of God.    

Lastly, there were the Pharisees.  They saw only the letter of the law; not its spirit.  They deceived themselves into thinking that they were complying with the law by following the mechanics of the law.  They became quite good at that- literal compliance.  Anyone who came along and challenged their sense of contentment was attacked.  They were so consumed with the detail tat they couldn’t see the forest from the trees.   

And so, there are all kinds of blindness:  blindness of perspective; blindness to deceit and evil; physical blindness; and blindness of the heart.  All of us are human and flawed; and all of us possess one or more of these kinds of blindness to some degree.   

Consider how these kinds of blindness effect our relations with God.  We can foster our own perspective, not God’s; we sometimes overlook evil when there is a perceived good in it for ourselves; we can’t see things at all when we are preoccupied with ourselves; quite often we don’t want to open our hearts, especially to change; and we can hang on to details when the essence is right there before us.  In other words, we can’t see our sinfulness for what it is.   

So, what is the solution?  Well, we are in the middle of Lent.  Lent is a time of the year when we should pause from the humdrum of everyday life and open our eyes and hearts to God.  We need to “see” things as they really are about ourselves, where we are going in life, and how our relationship with God is going.   

We still have a couple of weeks to do this reflecting.  Perhaps the best way to open our eyes is to go somewhere where it is quiet and listen to God and what he has to say.  Like the blind man, our physical limitations are not holding us back from our ultimate goal.  Rather, it is our inability to see ourselves as we really are.  It is our sinfulness.  We need to seek out how to illuminate the truth.   

In some respects, it is like we are asleep.   How fitting are St. Paul’s words today:  “Awake O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

Tags:

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.