Fourth Sunday of Lent, 2023
By Sr. Jackie Walsh
For this particular weekend’s readings, many reflect on the blind man Jesus cured in the Gospel. While important, I was struck more by these words from the Book of Samuel, “not as humans see does God see, because humans see the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart” and then from the Letter to the Ephesians, “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”
At the first Cursillo team mass I attended some years ago, the Franciscan Friar began his homily, “if you don’t see the beauty of the image of God in your family members, friends, those next to you at this mass, and in strangers you meet, you aren’t seeing as God sees.” You could have heard a pin drop in that Chapel! Was he wrong? Of course not! Think about it for a moment. It’s easy to see God in our family members--well, most of the time, and friends too. But in every stranger we meet? In today’s world? I might be wrong, but I imagine every one of us, whether we realize it or not, makes a judgment about another, or even about ourselves. That’s not seeing as God does with eyes of love, compassion, and understanding.
Seeing as God sees helps us realize the hand of God at work in our own life’s journey and/or that of another. No one here is physically blind. But we can’t possibly know what is always going on with each person who crosses our path on a daily basis. We all have imperfections that may keep us from being totally genuine in our relationships with certain others. Some may even feel resentment, anger, hatred, or prejudice because of circumstances or situations previously experienced. Viewing life through God’s lens helps us see that people are more than how they appear, what they drive, the kind of house they have, or how much they make. When we take the time to pay attention, we become aware of how they are wonderfully created, unique individuals, with gifts and talents of their own. They have wants and needs, experience grief, sadness, and joy just like you and me.
Children of light try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord and act accordingly. The Letter to the Ephesians mentions taking no part in fruitless works of darkness. The darkness I refer to is different than that mentioned in the reading. Sometimes when a person is trying to deepen their understanding about self, God, and others, it takes time in darkness to move back toward Christ’s light.
That’s what happened for me in my time spent during what was a ‘dark’ time of my life. The circumstances weren’t shameful, underhanded, seedy, or anything like that on my part. Rather, the betrayal of a close and trusted relationship was the catalyst for my descent into darkness. Hurt and anger filled my heart and for the first time in my life, I found it next to impossible to pray. I cried to God to help me.
This situation took place before I knew about spiritual direction, but I did speak with a priest. Slowly, I began again to pray in earnest that I’d able to forgive. Not doing so was hurting me more than the other person. Being patient and trusting that God would heal my heart was a huge act of faith. Grace happened, once again my heart cautiously opened and learned to trust again, and eventually I forgave. Even though I was never without the Lord in my life, doing the required ‘soul-searching’ to come out of the darkness, back into the ‘light of the Lord’ took a great deal of courage, trust, and faith in God. If you’ve ever been there, then you know how much lighter your soul feels when you come out of the darkness!
When we see like God sees, we treat everyone as we would want to be treated with compassion, mercy, and understanding. We also act in ways that are pleasing to the Lord. The light and love of the Lord shines in and through us making us truly ‘children of the light.’