Having Eyes to See

I had cataract surgery about a month ago.  It has been very successful.  I now have 20/20 vision in both eyes.    I have been wearing glasses since I was about 7 years old and I couldn’t see much without my glasses.  They were the first thing I reached for after getting out of bed in the morning and took them off when I went to bed at night.  I still require reading glasses, however, it's a different world out there and I see it with new eyes.

I had the opportunity to preach on Sunday and, coincidentally, last Sunday’s Gospel reading was John 9: 1-14.  This is the account of Jesus giving sight to the man born blind at birth.  The Gospel reading has taken on a new meaning for me from the many times I read it previously.  I now see it with new eyes.  I was certainly not blind before the surgery, but it is a whole new world out there for me to take in.

I have had many favourite singers in my life – favouring songs by Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchel aPeter Paul and Mary, nd similar singers – one of my favourite songs for a long time has been one by Leonard Cohen or St. Leonard of Song as I like to call him.  You may know the one that begins with an H but I can’t say the title because we are in Lent.  However, I think I have a new favourite

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright sun shiny day
It's gonna be a bright, bright sun shiny day

So, this Gospel reading is an account of a blind man receiving his sight – a miracle performed by Jesus.  It was a not just any old miracle – the man was blind all his life – he was born blind.  This was undoubtedly seen as a miracle by the people in the account, “Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.”  This is wonderful for the man who now could see for the first time.  The story might have ended there if it was a fairy tale – now that he could see, he found his princess and they lived happily every after.  But stories of the people of God in the bible never seem to be that simple.  No, in his new life, in which he is able to see, he is caught up in the midst of quarrels and disagreements and schisms in Isreal at that time.

The man who was blind, now could see.  However, he was not the only one in this Gospel who was blind.  There are many in the story who are blind and remain that way.  First, we have the neighbours who don’t believe what they see - they can’t believe their lying eyes – “Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.”

Next, we have the Pharisees – you can always depend on them not to see what is before their eyes.  This could not be a miracle because Jesus broke the rules and healed on the Sabbath.  Some one who is a sinner could not perform God’s work.  Then there were others who believed the man was a fraud – he had not actually been blind. 

Then we had the man’s parents.  They were blinded by fear. They were afraid to acknowledge Jesus as the one who performed this wonderful thing for their son:

His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

Finally, we again have the wilful blindness of the Pharisees.  They completely reject the man who had been given his sight.  They can’t believe what they have seen, “They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.” 

So, we can see for this Gospel, that there are many ways in which we can be blind – turn a blind eye to how God is working in the lives of these people.  It can happen through physical blindness – but more to the point it can happen because of disbelief, or fear, or denial, or doubt and so on.  The question for us today is, how are we blind – how do we turn a blind eye to where God is in our lives?

It is a challenge for us and for many Christians to actually see and hear what God is doing in our lives and in the world.  As with those gathered in our Gospel reading – the formerly blind man, the family, the neighbours, the Pharisees – we are blind or turn a blind eye to God acting in the world and in our lives.  We may see where God is calling us but, like the parents of the blind man, be afraid to respond to what we see. 

We may be like the Pharisees – yes, those enemies of Jesus – and believe that God could not be doing because God is using a sinner.  We may be stuck in our old ways and believe those ways are right and God could not be calling us to be a church in different ways. 

There is no question that to follow the example of Jesus – to hear and truly believe his teaching, to love one another as he loves us, is no easy thing – to put it mildly.  But as they say the journey begins with the first step.  One way that you can be on that journey is to recognize God’s presence in your lives right now.  God is present to us and offers us the opportunity to be on that journey.  I invite you to reflect on how the Triune God is present in your lives now.  It may be in the wonders of God’ creation – in the great outdoors.  It may be in music.  It may be in gathering to study holy scripture.  It may be helping with the community dinner.  It may be in worship and being part of gathering in the name of Jesus Christ – it only takes two or three gathered together. 

Once you identify that, see if you can deepen that relationship with God but continuing whatever it is and acknowledge how God is present in your life and give thanks to God regularly and often.  It may also mean trying new ways and seeing if you can identify God’s presence in new ways.  I have never been one who finds God’s presence in the midst of nature. 

I don’t do that naturally.  However, I have been enjoying being part of the Holy Strollers and walking with others in the great outdoors that God has created.  I am beginning to find God’s presence in those walks.  So, I invite you to try something new and see if you can identify God’s presence in a new way.

A wise person once said, give thanks to God in all things.  I would say, give thanks to God in as many ways as it is possible for you.  That would be a step on the journey that Jesus calls us to be on as Christians.  Then we will have eyes to see and ears to hear more fully God’s presence in our lives.  Something to consider on our journey.