Master, I Want to See!

 

Deacon David Previtali · Master, I Want to See!

Homily for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, October 24, 2021. Gospel of St. Mark 10: 46-52. Theme: Master, I Want to See! 

The Gospels are filled with eye witness accounts of Jesus curing many people of various kinds of illnesses and conditions. So when an evangelist such as Mark includes a particular healing story in his Gospel, it’s because he’s singling it out as something for us to really pray over and reflect upon. Today’s healing miracle is definitely one of those stories. Mark doesn't want us to focus exclusively on what Jesus did for Bartimaeus, but rather on what he wants to do for each one of us. Jesus' healing touch can free us from moral and spiritual blindness so that we can safely and clearly make our way through this life to the joys of Heaven. 

While physical eyesight is obviously vital to all of us, living with moral blindness is really much more dangerous. Our moral vision is called “conscience” and it enables us to choose good and avoid evil, to clearly see right from wrong. But if we do not take care of forming our consciences correctly, enlightened by God’s Word, we will gradually fall victim to moral blindness. This doesn’t happen all at once but is a gradual process. Moral vision, like many forms of optical degeneration, develops within us over time and becomes more blurry each time we make bad moral choices. 

If not kept in check we can suddenly find ourselves doing things we never thought we would do. Consider the terrible tragedy of the person who harms another without remorse, of the pathological liar who becomes unable to speak the truth, of the gossip monger who can ruin a person’s reputation without batting an eye, and the cheating spouse who loses no sleep over repeated acts of adultery. Such people have allowed themselves to become so morally blind that they have no sense of loyalty, no attachment to truth, no sense of shame, no healthy regrets. Imagine what a terribly dark world such morally blind people must live in! 

Moral eyesight of conscience is something that we all have but it isn't something that we all have properly formed and developed. A healthy conscience formed according to the moral teachings of Christ is like having 20/20 vision. When presented with options in life that are not all of equal goodness in value, it enables us to choose what is good and reject what is evil. It informs us when we fail to love, when our lives are going on a wrong track, or when we are headed for destruction. Contrary to modern pop psychology, when we feel shame or experience guilt it’s actually a sign that our conscience is alive, healthy and well. These feelings are like a moral GPS system built within us, directing us to pathways that will lead us to happiness both here and hereafter. 

There is another type of blindness that is also dangerous and destructive: the blindness of unbelief. While it’s not precisely the same as moral blindness, they are very closely related and often go hand in hand. For the spiritually blind, the only realities of life are those that they can see, hear, taste, touch, smell or study in a science lab. In other words, it means the lack of faith in God and in the Unseen World he has created.. Those who suffer from spiritual-vision degeneration find themselves especially lost when it comes to the challenging struggles of life such as holding onto hope at the loss of a loved one or enduring and surviving the trauma of a broken relationship. The spiritually blind have no hope and often find themselves caught up in some form of addiction. This is why the success of 12-Step Recovery programs rests upon their non-negotiable insistence on spiritual surrender to a Higher Power. Spiritual vision restores us to reality. 

As opposed to moral or spiritual blindness, our baptism-induced faith-vision gives us the supernatural eyesight to look beyond our senses, beyond the world around us, and see the God who created it all. 

• Faith-vision allows us to know that we are more than just randomly assembled pieces of flesh and bone. That we are more than our DNA, more than our physical traits, more than our fleeting emotions and feelings, more than the animals who lack an immortal rational soul. 
• Faith-vision informs us that each one of us has a purpose on Earth and a destiny far beyond this planet. It enables us to see that no matter how others might see us or judge us, God sees who we really are from the inside out, loves us and calls us to live with him forever in Heaven. 
• Faith-vision allows us to see more in ourselves than others see. 

Physical sight comes through our eyes; moral sight comes through our conscience; and spiritual sight comes through our faith which means our belief and trust in God. As we ponder the healing story of Bartimaeus, let’s thank the Lord for the gift of all three and resolve to take care of them equally, so that our lives might be the best that they can be, both here and hereafter.