When he was at table with them, he took the bread. He blessed the bread, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him!(Luke 24:13-35)

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Eyes of faith

 


Last spring, I experienced a ‘flash of light’ in my right eye, followed by a complete loss of vision in that eye.  Since it was a holiday weekend, I had to wait several days to see an ophthalmologist.  By the time I saw the doctor, my ‘sight’ had improved a lot, but the ‘vision’ in my right eye was a lot worse.  The doctors are still trying to come up with a cause and course of treatment.

The episode has made me realize that if we had to be deprived of one of our human faculties, most of us would probably be least willing to give up our sight.  To miss out on seeing people, the beauties of nature, movies, television – even this computer text – is so threatening.  We can close our eyes for a while and try to imagine what totally blind people experience, but our experience is limited as we can simply open our eyes and see again.  Trying to see without our glasses or contact lenses is perhaps most challenging for us.

The Scriptures frequently present sinfulness in terms of blindness, and redemption in terms of seeing.  In our baptism our eyes were opened to see the Lord in faith.  That Baptism experience was most likely years ago, and so this Advent Season 2020 (with all of its challenges) asks us:  Are we keeping our eyes open?  Do we see our redemption at hand?

God is present for us everywhere, especially in people.  His joy is in the smile of an infant, His acceptance of us in the affection of a child, His vitality in the energy of an adolescent, His power in the strength of an athlete, His beauty in the loveliness of a human being, His concern in the devotion of a parent, His wisdom in the prudence and insight of the elderly.  What experiences, what "sights"!

This Advent encourages us not to close our eyes to God’s presence, or to live in darkness and gloom.  As did the two blind men in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 9:27-31), we’re invited to profess our faith in Jesus, to acknowledge His presence and power, and to keep our eyes open and follow Him as 21st century disciples.  "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? …wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord." (Psalms 27)

Come, Lord Jesus.  Help us to see with the eyes of faith!

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