BLINDNESS OVERCOME – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
There are various forms of selective blindness. A person may be blind toward another person from anger, revenge, prejudice, or hatred. Love makes people blind. “Love is blind”, which can prevent seeing someone clearly, and can also allow for seeing in the one they love what others can’t see.
Sin is a source of moral blindness. People choose to see the good in sin, and to remain blind to its evil. This is a very common form of blindness. What the moral law and others see clearly as a moral evil, others do not see.
People choose to remain blind in many different areas because it’s easier. Seeing increases responsibility. Denial is a form of blindness. Some prefer blindness to sight. The blindness of ignorance to the good may be preferable to the sight of knowledge because the good makes more demands. Many choose to be ignorant of what the Scriptures of the Church teach because to know would overcome their spiritual blindness, and make them more responsible.
As long as the pain of blindness of whatever form is more tolerable or bearable than the responsibility of seeing, someone may choose to stay in their blindness. But when the cost becomes too high or painful or unbearable, someone may seek to overcome their blindness. Emotionally, one may realize the cost of being blind toward someone is too costly to them. Spiritually someone may realize that the costs of guilt, the loss of peace, the harm to their life from some chosen ignorance is bringing them too much pain and they may want to see. A society may begin to see how violating the commandments of life is creating unbearable costs and problems.
Something may have to happen to a person or a nation to help overcome spiritual or moral or social blindness in a certain area. It could be a saving grace hidden in something very painful, such as an accident, a sickness, a change in circumstances, or a new revelation which overcomes some form of blindness. These are graces.
The blind man Bartimaeus had spent his life sitting on the roadside, due to his blindness. He had tolerated his blindness for some time. The pain of his blindness had become intolerable and he began to look for ways to overcome it. He heard of Jesus, who had been healing people. On hearing Jesus was passing by, his pain of blindness led him to overcome the fear of shouting out in the crowd, or being told to be quiet. He finally wanted to see. Wanting to see is a great step forward. If he didn’t have a great desire to see he could have remained on the roadside. Maybe Jesus had passed by before and he had chosen to remain in his blindness. He was familiar with blindness and sitting on the roadside, but not with seeing and moving down unfamiliar roads in his life.
Jesus called Bartimaeus over. He asked him what he wanted. The man knew clearly what was causing him so much pain, and what he truly wanted. “I want to see.” It’s a great step forward when someone identifies and wants to overcome their form of blindness. He had faith that Jesus could overcome his blindness. Faith in the Lord lead Jesus to heal him. “Be on your way! Your faith has healed you.” He could no longer sit on the roadside. Following Jesus, no doubt, created some new insecurities for him.
We all have power over the different forms of blindness we may be afflicted with. We can be healed of our mental, emotional, and spiritual blindness if we want it and if we are ready to accept the responsibility for vision. “Immediately he received his sight and started to follow Him up the road.” A new vision of life was given him. Fifteen miles down the road was Jerusalem where Jesus underwent suffering, the cross, death and resurrection. Jesus chose to see the condition of the human family, and to take on the redemptive work of saving the human race given to Him by His Father.
We need to look at our blindness and where it may be leading us. When we realize the pain and intolerance of our moral, emotional, mental and spiritual blindness, then we will pray to the Lord for mercy and vision. We will want to clearly say about our blindness: “I want to see”, so that we can also proclaim: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy”.
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