Homily Fourth Sunday of Lent 2020
Our Parents probably had many sayings that we remember throughout life. I remember one pearl of wisdom uttered by my mother whenever a child from another family did something impolite. She would absolve the child with the words, “Well, he just doesn’t know any better.” What she was saying was that if a youngster didn’t have guidance in life they should not be expected to know how to act.
In the story from the Gospel of John, that we just read, the writer goes out of his way to say that the man who was blind-was blind from birth. Blindness was a common ailment in Biblical times because of poor hygiene. Infections and disease were passed easily from person to person. Insects might do this. Flies carrying diseases could pick at a child’s eyes while they slept which led to various problems. Many people could see when they started out in life, but then they would lose their sight later.
People who had seen at one time knew what they had lost. Such people missed seeing the faces of loved ones. Also, they knew how beautiful a sunset was. Vivid colors were part of their memory. But how do you describe those things to a person who has never seen?
A person who had been born blind did not know what they were missing. All of life had been spent in darkness. Such a person would have to adapt and use their other senses. Hearing was more acute. The sense of touch was more profound. Maybe there was an intuition about when danger was around.
People blind from birth in Jesus’ world had to rely on the charity of others. The man Jesus takes an interest in was a beggar. Maybe the same people threw money in his bowl daily as they walked by him in the street. He was well known to those who lived in the neighborhood.
Another key point in the story was that the blind man did not ask for healing. Jesus decided he needed healing. He spat on the ground making an ointment of saliva and dirt that he rubbed in the blind man’s eyes. If we reflect on the original language in the Gospel, we see that the word for anointed is e-pi-ch-r-i-o. The word comes from the same root in the Greek as chrism. We could say that Jesus not only helped the man to see, but he Christified his eyes. He was healed physically. He was healed spiritually.
We often have been told as we have heard sermons about this Gospel that we have spiritual blind spots. At different times in our life surprise events can open our eyes. Such is the case right now. Our eyes are being opened by the Covid 19 pandemic. We can simply be depressed that we are shut in at home. Or, we can ask what it is that we are supposed to see that we have not seen. Is God trying to tell us something? Our faith would say yes. What are some things we should be learning?
We are learning that personal relationships are important. Time in isolation causes us to realize that we need social contact. We must come up with new ways to talk to each other. What should we talk about? Maybe we need to tell our loved ones how much they mean to us. Can we engage in gut level communication? In times of crisis quite often we are more honest about expressing our feelings. I am not talking about a quick text asking, “How are you doing?” But I am talking about a lengthy phone call, email, or letter expressing our deepest thoughts. In the spirit of Lent, this might even be a time to mend a broken relationship.
We are learning that we can deepen our prayer life. We have time for solitude. We can spend that time watching one Net flex movie after another. We could also crack open the Bible. We could read a spiritual book. We can pray the rosary. We can take time to meditate. If we don’t pray now, then, when will we?
We are also seeing the shallowness of materialism. Our personal fortunes are being put in jeopardy. But is that more important than our health or the health of those that we love? In this moment we can learn to identify priorities in our life. If we have food, clothing and shelter in the days ahead we can feel fortunate. The truth is that most of us can simplify are life. We can get by with less.
The biggest lesson we are learning is that we are not in control. We have been that every problem is meant to be solved. We want to fix things right now. We should not have to wait. All of this is an allusion. We are now seeing that. We are radically dependent on divine assistance to make sense of the present moment.
Jesus wants to anoint our eyes, to Christify them so we can really see the world for what it is. We can ask for this anointing. Or, we can resent it. The blind man was given a new vision. We pray for that new vision today.
Dear Parishioners,
I said during our online Mass I will be writing a daily homily and putting it on the WEB each day. I will also be writing to you to make announcements. We will continue to produce a short bulletin each week that can be found in its usual place on the internet. We also will try to continue to livestream our Sunday Mass. We are new at this so be patient. We had some trouble with the audio, but I tried to listen with various devises. I notice that my main computer, which has adjustable speakers, picked up 98 per cent of what was said. The movements were also a little jerky. We will be working on our presentation in the next week. I am afraid we will not reach perfection, but we will do our best.
The diocese and the secular government continue to restrict our activities more and more which is understandable. It means that our office staff is supposed to stay home. The priests are also unable to regularly visit the hospital. We have been blocked from doing so. The church building and other buildings on our campus are on lock down. The priests are around and will take calls and answer emails. Other staff members will be working from home most of the time.
The last thing that I will mention in this daily message is that the parish and our schools will experience financial issues as we move forward. This is a fact we need to be honest about. Our savings will be depleted quickly unless parishioners donate online or mail in donations. There will be no government bailout for religious institutions. We appreciate anything you can do for us. You can donate online at our WEB page and our mailing address is:
1608 13th St.
Moline, Illinois 61265
May you find calmness on this Sabbath day and may the Angels protect you from all harm.
Fr. Mark