Spiritual Blindness
“Master, I want to see.”
In 1995 Dr. Oliver Sacks released his book, “An Anthropologist on Mars.” In this book he recounts the stories of seven people suffering from various neurological conditions. One of the cases concerned a man named Virgil. Virgil had been blind since early childhood. At the age of 50, Virgil underwent a complicated surgery that restored his vision. But Virgil, along with Dr. Sacks, soon found out that there was much more to seeing than having the physical capacity for sight.
Virgil’s first experiences with vision left him confused. He was able to make out colors and shapes and movements, but putting them into a coherent picture was much more challenging. Over time he did manage to learn to identify various objects but his habits and behaviors were still those of a blind man.
Dr. Sacks concluded, “One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo … that is so terrible.”
Thomas Huxley, who coined the word “agnostic,” was once approached by a very sincere Christian. The Christian asked if it might be possible that the great scientist was color blind? In the same way some people cannot see green while others see it all around them, could it be possible that Huxley was simply blind to what others saw so clearly?
Huxley, being a man of integrity, admitted this was possible, but added that if it were, he himself would not know it.
How many of us live out our lives in a sort of spiritual color blindness, unable to even acknowledge the Truth and Beauty that surrounds us?
Grace
God made everything Good. Mankind was made with the capacity for Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. But as with Virgil’s experience, there is much more to Goodness, Truth, and Beauty than having the capacity to express them.
The truth that we draw from the account of our first parents in Eden, is that when we turn away from God, when we are disobedient to His will, we lose the grace that allows us to see clearly, we become spiritually color blind.
Due to the consequences of Original Sin, while we are born with the physical ability to see, we are born spiritually blind. That is, we are born without the sanctifying grace that allows us to be in communion with God. The sacrament of Baptism restores to us the grace that God intended us to have from the beginning.
In Baptism our fallen selves are drowned in the waters of the sacrament and we are reborn as a new person, with a renewed capacity for goodness. But then the work truly begins.
As new members of the Church of God we must learn how to exercise our natural propensity for Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. We have had our vision restored to us, but now we must learn how to see.
In our times we have more and varied resources to learn the faith than at any point in history. We all respond and learn in different ways and regardless of what that may be, there is a resource that will allow us to grow in our relationship with God.
Chosen Ignorance
Those who refuse to see, those who refuse to learn the depth and beauty of faith, will continue to live as they did before. Their habits and behaviors will be those of the spiritually dead. It is these, the spiritually blind, who deserve our compassion and understanding. Saint Paul advises us who are strong, to be patient with those who are weak and work to help them see, for the sake of their souls.
There are many who, to paraphrase Fulton Sheen, hate what they think is the Catholic Church. They have made themselves blind to the truth. It is the work of the faithful to help them see what the church truly teaches, and perhaps more importantly, why it teaches what it does.
If we are uncertain or confused by something taught to us, why would we not ask for clarification?
In the Gospel of Mark, Bartimaeus calls to the “Son of David,” by doing so he recognizes Jesus as a prophet and wonderworker. Although others try to silence him, his plea becomes all the louder. Finally he gets Jesus’ attention and is brought before the Master. “What do you want me to do for you?” Our Lord asks. Bartimaeus’ request is simple he wants to see.
The blind man’s longing for vision, or for the light that will shatter the darkness he lives in, was a longing for something more basic than simply sight, it was a longing for the right path, the path a blind person cannot see. It is the path to God that one must be able to see in all its’ stages and directions, before he can embark upon it. His longing for the light is part of the reason Jesus heals him and this healing in turn allows Bartimaeus to follow Jesus. Although the Lord tells him to go his way the beggar instead chooses to follow the Lord.
With the healing of the blind beggar, one who was cut off from the light can now see clearly enough to find his way home.
Bartimaeus speaks for us all. As long as we live in darkness and fear, we are blind to the Lord. Let us pray for the vision to see the truth in God’s teachings and the grace to follow where He leads. Let us pray that we may all find our way home.
Pax Vobiscum
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time