What do you see?

One day Jesus came upon a young man who had been born blind. With his usual deep love and sensitivity, the Savior touched the man's eyes with some mud and spittle. The action allowed the man to see.

What a wonder- to be in darkness all of your life and then suddenly to be able to see. I can feebly try to understand the enormity of the miracle by closing my eyes for a few moments and then try to navigate without sight. Such a game doesn't come close to the overwhelming reality of sight from blindness.

For me the challenge isn't physical blindness. I'm blind in so many other ways. For example take a thing we look at often but perhaps don't even see, like the inside of your church. Close your eyes. What do you see. What is the color of the seats? And the rug. What's it's color? The pictures on the wall? Can you describe any one of them? The statue in the back of church? Who is it? What color vestment is the priest wearing?

Keep your eyes closed. Now let's move to the people in church with you now. Can you remember who's sitting right in front of you? What are their wearing? Often families sit in the same place in church each Sunday. In your mind's eye, locate where you think those families are. How many people are in the choir today? How many servers are helping at this Mass.

Now may I ask you to call to your mind's eye the image of someone you see every Sunday. Perhaps you don't even know their name even though you see them every Sunday. Pick one person: young, old, man or woman. Call them to your mind's eye.

So often, even though we have the gift of sight, we don't really see others. They pass in front of us. We might even greet them, but they often remain strangers. As you hold your person in your mind, wonder what are his or her fears... joys... worries...loves...hopes. failures...victories..
Of course thinking about people is nice, but the fruit of this little exercise has to be that we take the risk of getting to know that person outside of church. We need to reach out in loving care beyond our imagining.

Along with the young man, we too have been given sight by Jesus. That sight goes beyond what we see with out eyes. With the gift of sight that Jesus gives us we see with our hearts and souls. And as we look into the hearts and souls of others, we find Jesus

If the Church means anything, it has to mean that we open our eyes to see Christ in the Bible readings, the Eucharist and also in the people who whom we worship. The closer we can come to know and love one another, the closer we come to knowing and seeing Christ, our Light.