Scripture for Mass
1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Psalm 23(22):1-3a. 3b-4. 5. 6. Response:1
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41
The abrupt realisation that something which seemed obvious had in fact a significant hidden dimension is often referred to as an eye-opening experience. While sometimes there is deliberate concealment, at other time the journey from ‘seeing what’s happening’ to ‘recognising what’s going on’ exposes our blind spots.
In today’s gospel, Jesus invites us to move from seeing him to recognising him. Perhaps, we are tempted to think that if we were to see Jesus and witness his miracles with our own eyes, then we would be easily convinced that he was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God. However, the gospels are filled with accounts of people who saw Jesus in the flesh but refused to believe in him – so there is little reason to think that we would be any different from them.
Indeed, it can be argued that it was much more difficult for the people of Jesus’s time to believe in him than it is for us, since they did not have the advantage of hindsight. In other words, unlike them, we have a rearview-mirror view not only of Jesus’s public ministry, but also of how it came to a climax in his death, resurrection and ascension, as well as in the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Moreover, unlike the people of Jesus’s time, we have numerous ancestors in the Christian faith – the saints – as role models, intercessors and mentors to guide and help us recognize the truth of Jesus and the importance of his life and message for the life of our world.
Gracious God, grant us the courage and humility to recognize ourselves as sinners whom you look upon with great tenderness and infinite mercy.
Shed the light of the Holy Spirit on those blind spots that prevent us from recognising Christ in the sick and the poor, as well as in vulnerable migrants and prisoners.
Open our eyes to see and our hearts to grieve the devastation and suffering which we are inflicting on our Common Home.
Deepen our faith in Christ so that we can see the world through his eyes and follow his way of life.
We ask this through Christ our Guide and Light.
Amen.
Fr. Tim Mulroy
