Open Your Eyes — See!<

The Gospel we heard last week about the Samaritan woman and this week about the man blind from birth have a lot of parallels.

Often in the stories of the Gospel, we read about people flocking to Jesus, trying to get near Him, and making their needs known.

In both of these readings, Jesus initiates the contact. First, he asks the Samaritan woman for a glass of water. Then, in response to the Disciples’ question about sin, Jesus talks to the blind man.

In both readings, last Sunday’s and this one, Jesus breaks the law. Talking to a Samaritan woman was forbidden, especially one of so low a class. It was also forbidden to work/heal on the Sabbath.

Blindness may be challenging to cure, and it is also difficult to diagnose. You might think that a foolish statement. Blindness seems obvious. One cannot see. Therefore that person is blind. But it is probably not as clear-cut as we might initially think.

Consider these scenarios.  

One man sends his young daughter away when she wants to show him the coloring she made for him. He says, “Later, can’t you see I am trying to watch the game?” Another father is so overwhelmed by his love for his daughter that he writes the song “Isn’t she lovely” in her honor. His name is Stevie Wonder, the blind singer. 

Which man truly sees his daughter, and which man is blind? 

A man ignores his wife. She wants to know if he still thinks she is attractive. She wonders if he still loves her. He responds, “You remember I have an early tee time tomorrow. Have you washed my favorite golf shirt?” Another husband is so overwhelmed by his love for his wife that he writes her a love song. “You are so beautiful to me. You are everything I hoped for. You are everything I need…you are so beautiful to me.” That song was written by another blind artist, Ray Charles.

Which man truly sees his wife….which man is blind? 

A woman sits in church during Mass. The Word of God is spoken, and the Bread of Life is broken. Her mind is everywhere but there. Instead of hearing the readings and recognizing the presence of God, she is wondering about a conversation she had with a neighbor that offended her. She is absently figuring out the grocery list that she will stop and purchase on the way home. Another woman sat in church. After the Mass, she wrote, “Perfect submission, perfect delight visions of rapture now burst on my sight.” Her name is Fanny Crosby, mission worker, poet, lyricist, composer of more than 8000 hymns, and blind from the age of 6 months.

Which woman experienced the wonder of worship, and which one was blind? 

Our Gospel today features this very same paradox. It points the finger at blindness in its various forms. A man is born blind but healed by Jesus. The Pharisees are born sighted but fall into spiritual blindness.”

My wondering today is simple. In what am I blind? Who do I refuse to see?

Today, Jesus is making the first step toward us. He is freeing us from our blindness. But only if we choose to be cured. He is showing us the way to see clearly. 

God is here. God is now. Open your eyes and see.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen