March 15, 2015
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Dear Parishioners,
Our Gospel story of the man born blind is not so much about the man being healed, but about seeing as God sees. We are reminded that we are committed to a life that reveals God’s vision to a life of constant conversion. If we are sincere about asking God to “open our eyes,” to see as God sees, then we must also be willing to change the way we live our lives so that our lives reflect God’s vision, and not ours.
When I was in sixth grade I was fitted with my first pair of eyeglasses. When I stepped out of the doctor’s office into the parking lot, the first thing I saw was a tree. Now, I had never in my life seen a tree like that. Before I got my glasses I thought trees were just blobs of green and brown. Theoretically, I knew what a tree looked like; I could see leaves and bark and such. But after I saw them through my new lenses I realized that a tree was more than just leaves and bark. The leaves had lines, and edges, and curves. There were also birds in the trees that I could now see. There were cracks and grooves in the bark that I had missed before. Finally, being able to see the detail, the intricacies of nature and its true beauty, is how God sees each of us.
In today’s first reading God told Samuel that God doesn’t see as humans see. We can only see part of the picture; what’s on the outside of a person. But God sees deeper into the heart and soul of that person. God sees the fullness of that person’s potential. God sees that person’s intricate and detailed beauty. Jesus tells the blind man “. . . you have seen the Son of Man; you have seen the Christ; the one speaking with you is he.”
What if each of us could put on some new lenses − “God lenses” − lenses that allow us to see that intricate and detailed beauty of each person? Imagine how differently we would act if we remembered Jesus’ words: “You have seen Christ, he is speaking with you now.”
How differently we would act if each time we encountered one another we saw Christ. How differently we would treat our classmates, our friends, our enemies, and those we don’t like. How differently we would treat the people who don’t speak our language, the people who don’t look, act, or think the way we do. How differently we would treat the beggar, the homeless, the people we label as failure, as sinner, the people we label as conservative or liberal, gay or straight, too old or too young, too dark or too light, too smart or too dumb, too much of something that doesn’t fit our point of view.
Imagine if each time we encounter one another, each time we speak with one another, we “see” Christ, we “hear” Jesus. How different our world would be.
There’s one important thing about getting glasses for the first time that I will never forget. When I saw that tree and I saw how beautiful it was, all I could do was to be amazed and give thanks to God for the awesome wonder of God’s creation.
When we see as God sees all we can do is stand and praise God for showing us a glimpse of heaven.
Fr. Leonard+