Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. This Quinquagesima homily from Fr. Dennis Sossi at St. Peter the Apostle ACC in Virginia complements Father Klock's. May we all take this Lenten opportunity to ask for the gift of sight.
“And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.” In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Today’s gospel lesson – our Lord’s healing of Bartimaeus, a blind man, outside the city of Jericho, is reported in all three synoptic gospels, albeit with slight variations. The significance of the lesson, however, lies not so much in the fact that our Lord has the power to overcome physical afflictions, but rather that he has both the power and desire to overcome our spiritual afflictions.
Blindness, as a simile of man’s ignorance and of his walking in darkness, is a common theme throughout both the Old and New Testaments. The effect of spiritual blindness in a person reveals itself in many ways: in our inability to perceive the beauty that surrounds us, in our inability to see where our lives are leading us, in our getting in the way of others and leading them astray, and in our inability to stay on the path God has set for us.
We are blind to the beauty of God’s Creation. All too often, we go through life failing, not only to stop and smell the roses, but failing even to notice that the roses are there. We are so preoccupied with the cares and concerns of our daily lives that we eliminate from our perception all the beauty of God’s created universe. The first chapter of the book of Genesis concludes with the verse “And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good...” We are surrounded by examples of what God beheld as being very good – the daily raising and setting of the Sun, the constant cycle of life, the delicate balance of nature – yet we consistently focus not on this beauty, but upon the sores and scars the devil and sinful man have inflicted upon this beauty, and we are blind to our own individual actions which pollute, damage and destroy a Creation which we acknowledge as the reflection of its Creator.
We are blind to where our lives are leading us. Most of us are so consumed with today that we fail either to notice or care where our actions or our inactions are leading us. Almost any runner will tell you that if you focus only on your feet or what is just in front of you, you will either stumble or falter. You must keep focused on the distant goal, you must be aware of the obstacles and turns and hazards. A physically blind man stands no chance running in a cross-country race; and a spiritually blind man stands no chance in running the race of life which has been set before him.
In our blindness we hinder not only ourselves, but others. The physically blind man, afraid of bumping into unseen obstacles is constantly searching his way with cane or outstretched arms requiring those with sight to adjust their movements to compensate for his. The spiritually blind, so concerned about his own inability to see the obstacles of life which lie around him, flails forth with anger and indifference, causing those with whom he comes in contact to adjust to him. Saint John writes, “he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not wither he goeth, because that darkness has blinded his eyes.”
And in our blindness, we fail to follow the path God has set before us. In the spiritual blindness of sin – envy, lust, greed, and selfishness – we lose sight of the markers along the path of life. When we blind ourselves to the Word of God, we blind ourselves to the promises of God. When we as individuals or as the Church become so enamored with man’s abilities that we lose sight of the fact that we are directed by a higher power, then we stray into the ditches of apostasy and heresy.
Like Bartimaeus, however, even in our blindness we struggle to reach the light. And Jesus Christ is the Light – the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. And, like Bartimaeus we must seek him, call him, beg him for mercy and for forgiveness, but most of all we must ask him for sight. Perhaps that is the most important message of this whole story. Our Lord requires us to acknowledge our blindness and to request our sight. There can be no doubt that an omniscient God realizes that we are blind. There can be no doubt that a God of love will have mercy upon us, even though we are ragged beggars sitting upon the wayside hearing the multitude go by; there can be no doubt that an omnipotent God has the ability to grant us all that we need, but these are not enough. It takes our action to institute his reaction. It takes our act of faith in coming to him, in acknowledging him and in asking him for that which we lack or that which we need. We must voice our petitions both as individuals and as members of a corporate body in order to receive that which he is most capable and willing to give.
As we enter into this Lenten season, let us examine our own lives – our lives as individuals, as a parish, and as members of the living body of Christ. Let us determine whether we are showing signs of spiritual blindness – let us check our ability to see the beauty of God’s creation which surrounds us; let us see if we are becoming myopic, failing to focus on where are lives are leading us; let us observe ourselves as we make our way though the crowded room of life whether we can see well enough to walk calmly or whether our anger is causing us to lose focus and constantly push on others; and let us find out where we are on the path to salvation and everlasting life. Are we following the commandment of God and walking in His Holy ways, or are we trying to establish our own Highway to Heaven? Let us use this Lenten season to seek these answers. Then let us, each and all, call upon the Son of David, the Son of the living God, the light of light. Let us, like Bartimaeus say unto our God, "Lord, that we may receive our sight."
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.