Wednesday in the sixth week in Ordinary Time, reflection at daily mass at Mary Gate of Heaven Church
There are two things that really stick out to me in these readings today. The first is the connection between sight and memory. In the letter to James, we hear that to be truly religious one must care for the orphan and the widow and accompany those who are afflicted. We must be doers of the word, doers of the gospel, and not just passive hearers. He says people who don't act on the gospel are like people who look into a mirror but then promptly go off and forget what they look like.
In other words, it's not enough to see, we have to take what we see to heart, we have to remember what we've seen and ultimately do something about it.
In the gospel we see Jesus cure a blind man. As Jesus is healing him, Jesus asks him "do you see anything" and the man replies that he maybe sees trees maybe he sees people, but he's not so sure yet. For me, I think the man probably could see at one point in his life, maybe when he was a kid, because he knows what trees and people look like, but as he regains his sight, it's not enough. He needs to remember what trees and humans look like and in the end, his full sight is restored.
I think about the kids Dan and I tutor at the school who have lost two years of school and learning. So many students who might be in 5th or 6th grade have forgotten their letters and can't always recognize which letter is which. They can see, but they need help remembering what they've seen. The letter 'C' is always pronounced like an 'S' even if I just told them a few seconds ago that it's a 'ca' sound.
The second thing that sticks out is how Jesus responds to the man's blindness. Jesus isn't impatient or angry. He takes him by the hand and gently leads him. He stays with him one on one and is personal with him. There are plenty of reasons for Jesus to get angry or frustrated. His disciples have been seeing him perform miracles and yet they still don't truly "see" what the gospel is all about. They only see partially, like the blind man who sees partially. But Jesus stays by their side and leads them hand in hand.
So today as we gather and celebrate this eucharist and go about our days, let us hear the words of Jesus spoken to us today "Do you see anything?" What do you see? Let's not forgot all the things and people we see today and let that be inspiration for us in our lives to be doers of the word and to live out the gospel more and more each day.
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