23-Mar-14 Dear Friend,
When we accidentally bump into something or someone, some people ask: “Are you blind? Can’t you see?” We get angry at these remarks because we believe we can see very well. Yet there are times we have to admit we are blind, that we don’t see as well as we should, that we don’t see the obvious, that we can’t see beyond the physical. May His Word open our eyes! Have an insightful Lenten weekend! –Fr. Jude Fourth Sunday of Lent He comes that we might see the light! 30-Mar-14 Readings: 1 Samuel 16: 1, 6-7, 10-13, Ephesians 5: 8-14, John 9: 1-41 In the first reading from the Book of Samuel we read of Samuel journeying to the house of Jesse for choosing the successor of King Saul. Samuel thought that the chosen one was Eliab, because he was the eldest, and the most handsome of all the sons of Jesse. But the Lord rejected Eliab and all the seven sons presented as worthy candidates to him. “God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart.” Finally, the youngest son David arrives, he is not handsome and lacks experience but he has a good heart. David is anointed King because God goes beyond appearances and sees David as the Shepherd King of his people. Bearded wisdom Early in his career, young Clarence Darrow was defending a client against an older, more experienced attorney, who sarcastically dismissed Darrow as “that beardless youth.” Darrow rebutted, “My worthy adversary seems to downgrade me for not having a beard. Let me reply with a story: The King of Spain once dispatched a youthful nobleman to the court of a neighbouring monarch, who sneered, “Does the King of Spain lack men that he sends me a beardless boy? To which the young ambassador replied, “Sire, if my King had supposed that you equated wisdom with a beard, he would have sent a goat.” Clarence Darrow won the case! Bennet Cerf The Gospel gives the account of the cure of the blind man on the Sabbath and how, as he progressively sees more and more, the Pharisees, who believe they have spiritual insight, see less and less. The gospel briefly focuses on Jesus who gives sight to the blind man and then highlights the various characters who are in various degrees of blindness. It starts with the disciples of Jesus, who, on seeing the blind man, see him as a subject of an interesting debate on the cause of blindness. They are blind to the need of the blind man. Jesus prefers to reach out to him. He spat on the ground, made a paste, rubbed it into his eyes and asked him to wash into the pool of Siloam. Incidentally, ‘Siloam’ means ‘being sent’ and stands for Jesus, the one who was sent to restore sight to the blind. Receiving sight is a slow process. It implies being ready to do what God wants, not what we feel like doing. Next the focus is on the parents, who also prefer to act as blind people. They know that their son was blind from birth. They now have the evidence that he can see. But when confronted by the fact, prefer to be non-committal, so as not to get into trouble with anyone. “He is old enough. Let him speak for himself.” They are blinded by fear of being expelled by the religious authorities. The focus shifts from the blind man who can now see, to the Pharisees who refuse to see the truth. They question the blind man and try to distort his testimony. The more they confront and try to distort the truth the more the man is adamant in his witnessing to Jesus and in confronting them about the truth. Not only is his physical sight restored but he grows in faith in Jesus. Initially, he merely states, ‘the man called Jesus’ did this for me. Next he says, “He is a prophet.” Later he proclaims, “This man is from God.” And when Jesus reveals that he is the Son of man, he finally professes his faith: “Lord, I believe.” Jesus said: “I have come into the world so that those without sight may see and those with sight turn blind.” We have to judge which is worse, being blind or pretending to see when in fact we are blind. Seeing for the first time “During World War II, John Howard was blinded in an aero plane explosion and could not see a thing for the next twelve years. But one day as he was walking down a street near his parents’ home in Texas, he suddenly began to see ‘red sand’ in front of his eyes. Without warning his sight had returned again. According to an eye specialist, a blocking of blood to the optic nerve caused by the explosion had opened. Commenting on his experience, John said, “You don’t know what it is like for a father to see his children for the first time.” But according to the Gospel something more spectacular happened to the man born blind, for Christ conferred on him, not only his physical sight but also spiritual insight; he opened his eyes of faith, so that the man believed in Jesus as one believes in the sun.” Vima Dasan Attitude towards Jesus the Light The coming of light ought to be good news for those living in darkness. However, this is not always the case. The Simon Community runs night-shelters for down-and-outs. Each night volunteers bring soup and sandwiches to those who for one reason or another do not want to come to the shelters. They go looking for them in derelict buildings and such places. The most important aid they take with them is a torch, because often there is no light where the down-and-outs live. Most of the down-and-outs receive the volunteers as friends. But some refuse to have anything to do with them. The volunteers can tell at once which group they are dealing with by their reaction to the light. Some welcome the light. Others fear it. You could say that the light judges them, in the sense that it shows up the darkness in their lives – the darkness of alcoholism, misery, hopelessness. But it doesn’t come to judge them. It comes as a friend, to brighten up their lives, to comfort them. Its advent means the arrival of friends. That’s how it was with the coming of Christ’s light. Christ did not come to judge people but to save them. He came bearing a light – the light of truth, goodness, and salvation from sin. Some welcomed his light. But others rejected it because it showed up the evil in their lives. Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’ Spiritual Blindness A sixty-year-old woman living in a mid-western town was finally prevailed upon by her family to see the eye doctor. She had never worn glasses in her life. The doctor gave her a thorough test and asked her to return in three days when he would have her glasses ready. He fitted the glasses and asked her to look out of the window. Almost breathless, she exclaimed, “Why, I can see the steeple of our church, and it is three blocks away.” “You mean you have never been able to see that steeple at that short a distance?” asked the doctor. “Gracious no”, she declared, “I never knew I was supposed to see that far.” “Madam”, said the eye expert, “you’ve been going for years half blind.” -Similarly, many cannot see the truth which God has made known to us… Msgr. Arthur Tonne Afraid of the dark or used to it? A man told of a trip he took with his little boy, two and a half years old. It was the first time the father and the boy had been away by themselves –just the two of them. The first night they spent in a hotel, the father moved his bed close to the little boy’s, and when they were both tucked in he turned off the light. After a few minutes, a little voice said: “It sure is dark, isn’t it?” “Yes,” said the father, “it’s pretty dark, but everything is all right.” There was a silence for a few more minutes, and then a little hand reached over and took the father’s hand. “I’ll just hold your hand,” said the little boy, “in case you get scared.” -What decisions have we recently made because Jesus is our light? Gerard Fuller in ‘Stories for All Seasons’ True Vision One night a few years ago there was a total eclipse of the moon. Everybody was talking about it. Many stayed up till the small hours in the hope of witnessing it. I ask myself: “Why all this interest in the moon, simply because it is disappearing?” I was convinced that most of those people wouldn’t see a full moon in the sky, much less stop to admire it. It brought to mind the words of Emerson: “The fool wonders at the unusual; the wise person wonders at the usual.” Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’ Tragedy turns into triumph Some philosophers view life as essentially tragic. They come to this pessimistic conclusion because they observe that all life inevitably ends in death. The rose which blooms early this spring will have died long before summer arrives. New-born infants who brighten the life of loving parents will themselves follow their father and mother one day into the darkness of the grave. In the far distant future the sun, which is our furnace, will exhaust its energy and the earth will endure a frozen death. Actually the entire universe is finite, limited in the resources which are needed for continued existence. Even at this moment the universe is slowly passing away. If like some philosophers we relied only on our human intellects, we too would be pessimistic. But we have been given the gift of faith which is like a bright light shining on an awesome truth within God’s plan. We call this truth the Paschal Mystery. Charles Miller in ‘Sunday Preaching’ May we acknowledge our blindness so that we may see anew! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
