The Fourth Sunday of Lent
The miraculous cure of the man born blind is a story that reveals the power faith holds to change our lives. As the blind man testifies, Jesus does not assess our worthiness, nor the depth and breadth of our understanding of who he is, before his love and power touches our lives. All that is required for healing to happen is that we express our desire to be changed, healed, given new sight, or vision beyond the boundaries that have limited our lives and our future.
However, as the man born blind comes to understand, there are consequences that come when Jesus heals our blindness, rubs out our blind spots, and gives us new vision. Inevitably, the new perspectives we acquire begin to shape new opinions, ideas, and a more expanded worldview. This kind of change is not easy for us to accommodate all at once, and we can become insecure and impose limitations on the transformation that is taking place in us. Similarly and sadly, it can happen that as our way of seeing the world begins to change, we can experience misunderstanding, criticism, even distancing by those who have been closest to us. Change can make for suspicion, discomfort, and even loss.
As we cross the threshold into the Fourth Sunday of Lent, when the transforming power of God’s love for us is increasingly revealed in the witness of Jesus, let us take a moment to consider:
· Where am I experiencing my own desire for healing, for transformation?
· What resistance or fear of transformation do I experience or anticipate?
· Do I believe that Jesus has the power as well as the desire to heal me?
· What of this, do I bring to my prayer this Fourth Sunday of Lent?
Prayer:
Open my eyes, to what I cannot see, despite my looking.
Open my eyes, to what I refuse to see, despite my need.
Open my eyes, to the future you call me to co-create, despite my disbelief.
Amen.
Sr. Arlene Flaherty, OP