Seeing with God's Vision

Fourth Sunday of Lent–Second Scrutiny 

In 2009 I was driving back from St. John parish in Fenton, where I was assigned as a deacon, to Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.  It was a Fall night, and it was raining fairly steadily.  I pulled onto M-10, what most Michiganders who are familiar with Detroit call the Lodge.  I was driving 60 mph, which was still slower than 99% of the traffic, which was going at least 65 mph in the 55 mph zone, but I was having a hard time seeing the stripes that divided one lane from another.  I made it home safely, but I knew something was wrong with my eyes.

I didn’t have vision insurance, though, so I was nervous about how much getting my eyes checked was going to cost.  My optometrist was very kind, and gave me a great deal on the eye exam.  During that exam, she put the big machine in front of my eyes to read the chart with the letters on it.  As she started to change the lenses, I realized how poor my vision had been.  My vision is not horrible (I’m near sighted), but as soon as she put my prescription up on that machine, everything was much clearer.

We need an occasional eye exam for our souls.  The eyes of our souls can sometimes lose their original power, and sometimes we need the lenses of Jesus so that we can see clearly.  Otherwise our eyes get worse, and might even become blind.  This Gospel that we heard today, along with the first reading especially, reminds us that we do not always see as God sees.  What Samuel saw as the winner was not God’s choice for the king of Israel.  What the disciples saw as the result of sin was what Jesus said would bring glory to God, and was not due to a moral issue in the man born blind.  In both of those readings, God gave an eye exam, and helped Samuel and the disciples realize how their vision was off.

What do we see when we see a person walking down the street with dirty clothes, maybe with bags full of cans, digging through trash, or asking for some money?  Do we see a beggar, maybe someone who has mental illness issues, a druggie, a drunk, or do we see Jesus?  If we do not see Jesus, then we do not have 20/20 spiritual vision.  Yes, that person might have a mental illness.  Yes, that person might be a drunk or addicted to heroin.  But that is still a person, made in the image and likeness of God, a beloved child of God, one of the least of the brothers of Jesus, with whom Jesus associates.

I come from a pretty sheltered life.  My family was never rich, but we never wanted for anything.  We didn’t have extravagant vacations every year, but we got to enjoy the State Parks of Michigan, and occasionally did take a trip down to Florida.  It is sometimes a challenge for me to put myself in the shoes of those who have nothing and who struggle each day.  I have to strain to see Jesus, and many times I have missed Him in the people I see.  One of the great blessings of being a chaplain for Adrian Fire Department, and working with Adrian Police Department and the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department is the presence I can give to those who work to protect our city and county.  But another blessing is that I have more opportunities to see Jesus in the people to whom we respond, many of whom I would never see or encounter.  

Samuel chose, by God’s grace, a king for Israel in the first reading.  Tuesday, as residents of the State of Michigan, we have the opportunity to help shape our election in November for President of the United States.  It’s not my job, and I won’t do so, to tell you for whom to vote.  The Catholic Church does not endorse a particular party or a particular candidate.  We will work with anyone, as we have for 2,000 years.  But I do want to challenge all of us about whether or not we are voting (which is very important and a civic and moral duty) with the eyes of God.  When we look at our favorite candidate, do we see them with the eyes of God?  I doubt God has a favorite candidate, and I’m sure He’s not endorsing anyone.  But do we examine each person, each a child of God and made in His image, in the light of divine revelation, so that we choose a person who protects all human life, in the womb, on the streets, in the nursing home; who does not spread fear and hatred of different classes of people, ethnicities, jobs; who respects and welcomes people of all faiths, but acts in accordance with the truth, even when unpopular; who works against discrimination of people with homosexual attractions but also understands that marriage, according to faith and reason, can only be between one man and one woman; who will build up the country in unity, rather than dividing us into different camps?

The way we see things determines how we interact with the world.  How are our eyes?  Do we see with the vision of God?

Why is This Night Different from All Other Nights?

Easter Vigil 

 

At the first question at the Seder, the meal that celebrates the Passover, the youngest child asks: Ma nishtana ha-laila ha-zeh mi-kol ha-leylot?  The English translation is: Why is this night different from all other nights?  On this night, the Passover in the Book of Exodus, when the angel of death passed over the house of the Chosen People, is fulfilled.  And so it is right for us to ask this same question: why is this night different from all other nights?

Why do we read these four readings from the Old Testament rather than one like we usually do at Mass?  We read these readings that point to the Resurrection all throughout Salvation History.  We begin with the creation of the world, and how God created all things beginning on the first day.  So on this, the eve of the first day of the week, the day after the Sabbath, we remember that Jesus Christ began a new creation in Himself, as He conquered sin and death.  We then hear about how Moses and the Chosen People were saved through water as God had them pass through the waters to safety, while He destroyed the evil Egyptians, the symbol of oppression of God’s People, in those same waters.  So, too, our Elect will pass through the water and be saved by it, while Satan’s kingdom will be further destroyed.  We hear from the Prophet Isaiah about being satisfied by the Lord, whose Word will have its effect to make the earth fertile and fruitful.  So God will feed us in the Eucharist and His Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, will continue the work of our baptism to change us to be more like Him.  We hear from the Prophet Ezekiel next as the last Old Testament reading how God, who had allowed His People to undergo the punishment of their infidelity will now save them because of the holiness of His Name, so that all may know that God is truly God and there is no other.  God will sprinkle clean water upon His People and pour out His Spirit upon them.  So we recall that God has now saved us through Christ and sent His Holy Spirit upon us, and especially upon those who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation tonight.  

Next we sing the Gloria for the first time since Thursday night at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.  This recalls for us the moment of the birth of Jesus Christ when the angels sang the glorious hymn: Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to people of good will.  We light the altar candles as the visible reminder that when Christ was born, a new light shone upon the world, and the light is Christ Himself.  So the candles around the altar, the altar which symbolizes Christ, are lit.  Then we turned to the New Testament, to the Apostle Paul, who reminded us that in baptism we died with Christ so that we could rise with Him to new life.  And that death that we experienced was meant to be a death from all that separated us from God, and all our sinful ways, into the new life in union with (we can also say communion with) God.  

And, in the high point of the Proclamation of God’s Word, we heard the Gospel of the Resurrection proclaimed.  We listened to the account of the holy women who went to the tomb, early on Sunday morning, only to find that the large stone had been rolled back, and Jesus was not there, but an angel, announcing that Jesus has been raised from the dead.  While we will likely not be here until after midnight, very early in the morning, we wait with watchful eyes and ears, in vigil, to solemnly celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  

Tonight we gather because all of time, and especially all of how God revealed Himself through the Old Testament pointed to this moment.  Tonight we gather because from all people, katholicos in Greek, God has desired His children to share in the Paschal Mystery: the suffering, death, Resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.  And tonight that same Paschal Mystery will be entered into by those receiving the Sacraments: the Elect who will receive Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist; the Candidates who will profess their faith in all the Catholic Church teaches, and then be confirmed and receive the Eucharist as well.  They will begin to make the fullness of that Paschal Mystery theirs through life in the Catholic Church.  

Very shortly we will celebrate that Paschal Mystery in sacramental form.  I won’t explain that yet.  As in the early centuries of the Church, I want our Elect and Candidates to experience it for themselves first, and then to understand the mysteries that they celebrated afterwards.  I will let the symbols speak with their own power to communicate, and then, having joined the Church of Christ, they will have a chance to be guided in their understanding of what happened.  

But, whether you will become Catholic tonight or are already Catholic, tonight is different from all other nights because on this night the doors of our hearts were marked with the Blood of the Unblemished Lamb of God who by His death destroyed death and took away the sins of the world.  On this night life was changed forever because death no longer held sway over us.  This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it, alleluia!!

Jump In! The Water's Great!!

First Sunday of Lent

            For many young children, and this was certainly true in my own life, there’s nothing quite as fun and as scary as water.  Right now we’d all probably love it to be a little warmer, so let’s think about a pool or a lake in the hot summer sun.  The adults are all in, splashing around, swimming, maybe diving if it’s safe.  And the little kid is waiting on the shore or on the patio, wondering if it really is ok to jump in.  All the adults say it’s fine, that you’ll naturally float.  And yet, it’s hard to trust that water.

            Water for the ancients was a sign of chaos and death.  In the beginning of the Book of Genesis, God separates the land from the water and orders the earth.  But the waters were still chaotic.  Imagine an early mariner trying to navigate the seas, when storms seem to pop up from nowhere, and currents take you places you do not want to go.  Even those who wanted to enjoy the water for recreation had to beware of the undertow and strong waves that could do real damage.

            This idea of the danger of water was reaffirmed in the story of Noah and the Great Flood.  Water becomes the agent of God wiping out the evil of the earth, and from which Noah and his family are saved by the ark.  And this is why St. Peter sees baptism as prefigured in the story of the Great Flood: in baptism, the elect go down, under the water, symbolizing the death of Christ, and then they rise to new life as they are pulled up from the water.  Just like Noah, Christians are saved from the destruction of chaos, this time not by a boat, but by Jesus Christ.

            With all this talk about baptism, you might think we’re celebrating the Baptism of the Lord. Even our Gospel passage is situated immediately after Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist.  But that was over a month ago in January.  We’re still in Lent.  So why all this talk about baptism?

            This Lent is a microcosm of what happens to us after our baptism.  Just like with Jesus, as He was driven into the desert by the Holy Spirit after His baptism, so, too, after our baptism do we begin a time of wandering in the desert, guided by the Holy Spirit, waiting to come to the end of our penitential pilgrimage to the joys of the heavenly Kingdom. 

            After we are baptized, we have grace from God to follow him, which is why we often baptize children: because we know they need the grace so they can eventually make it out of the desert and into the oasis of heaven.  But let’s be honest, there are a number of times where, unlike Jesus, we fall to the temptations of Satan.  Still, our entire lives are trying to pass through the desert of a sinful world and make it to the oasis, the garden of heaven, after the example of Jesus’ 40 days in the desert.

            And, just like Jesus, who had angels ministering to him among the wild beasts, we, too have angels helping us on our way through this Valley of Tears.  Our post-baptismal time is not only a time of suffering and self-denial, but is also a time of joy as we celebrate happy occasions.  But, even with these happy occasions, the fact remains that we’re not at the destination yet, and that is the source of our sadness.  As St. Paul says, while we are in the body (here on earth), we are away from our eternal home (where our body will be free from all that limits us and drags us down). 

            So how do we make it through this desert?  How do we come to the oasis?  We progress in the desert as we progress in the spiritual life.  The more we say yes to God and no to sin, the further along we are.  Sometimes we’re like the Israelites, who were not far from the Promised Land, but who, because of sin, had to wander around a while because they lost their way by not trusting in God.  When we sin, we start walking away from God and away from heaven, and start walking to hell, which is exactly the place we don’t want to be. 

            So through our penitential practices, we’re trying to train the body to recognize the signs of approaching the Promised Land.  By denying ourselves good things, we train ourselves to recognize the One who is Goodness Himself, and from whom all things, which are good, get their goodness.  Through increased prayer, whether increasing the time with the Lord, or increasing the quality of time we spend with the Lord, we get directions for how to arrive quickly to that Promised Land and start receiving some of its goodness even here on earth.

            The good news is that Jesus has gone before us and blazed the trail for us through the desert.  If we follow His path, then we know we’ll arrive at the same place he did.  Of course, on that path is the cross, and some of us would rather avoid that.  But the only way to get to the resurrection is through the cross.  So if we want to share in the Paradise of Heaven, then we have to pass through the Desert of Suffering and unite it with Jesus’ own sufferings.  But, we’re not alone; we also have myriad of saints who can help us along the way, both by seeing where they went and how they arrived at heaven, as well as by their assistance through our prayers to them for their help in our own pilgrimage. 

            We, like the saints who help us, are called to help the catechumens as they prepare for baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist, and the candidates as they prepare to make their profession of faith, and are then confirmed and receive the Eucharist.  (At this Mass, we will send them to Bishop Boyea with our prayers as their desires for union with the Church are accepted by our local Good Shepherd).  In the back of the Church we have an opportunity to take a slip of paper with a name of a catechumen or candidate so that, as they prepare for full initiation, they know that we are supporting them as they prepare to join us on the straight and narrow road that baptism provides to the Kingdom. 

            Jesus Christ has shown us the way, because He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.  During this Lenten season of penance, let’s remember and recommit ourselves to following His Way, so that we can pass through this desert, this Valley of Tears, and come to the Paradise promised to those who follow Him faithfully.