Dear Parish Faithful,
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN
OUR BLINDNESS-ES FROM BIRTH
“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’” (Jn 9:2-5)
As Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth, - while His disciples only saw a puzzling theological problem. The Lord’s response to their question, Who sinned…? and His subsequent healing of the man indicate to the disciples (and to all of us) that they saw the wrong question. Their question should have been: How can we help? Or: How are the works of God to be revealed in him, to us and through us?
Let’s consider this approach to our own “blindness-es from birth,” or to those “blindness-es” that others in our midst might have, which make us or them different from the mainstream. Let’s say, we were never athletic, or studious, or we were always tone-deaf and not musical, or were really good at some one thing, like dedicating ourselves to one political cause, but entirely not interested in other causes; or we were always loners and/or not “the marrying type,” for whatever reason.
Do we accept ourselves and one another, as we are, with our strengths in one area and weaknesses or, if you will, “blindness-es” in other areas? Do we generally accept these common differences among us, without grappling with the theological “why?” or “why me?” or “why my child?” Or do we get on with life, and see how we can help ourselves and one another, when we can help, so that “the works of God can be revealed” in us and through us? I mean, the works of God like patience, love, compassion, humility, and, finally, Church.
That final one, Church, is the sacrament of unity, revealed through the unity of many different people, as St. Maximus the Confessor writes in his Mystagogy:
For numerous and of almost infinite number are the men, women, and children who are distinct from one another and vastly different by birth and appearance, by nationality and language, by customs and age, by opinions and skills, by manners and habits, by pursuits and studies, and still again by reputation, fortune, characteristics, and connections: All are born into the Church and through it are reborn and recreated in the Spirit. To all in equal measure it gives and bestows one divine form and designation, to be Christ’s and to carry his name.
This morning I pray, Lord, help me to accept myself and others, in our differences, that we may see how we, together, can work the works of You who sent us into this beautiful world.
_____
Another fine meditation from Sister Vassa. But pay particular attention to the passage that she includes at the end from St. Maximus the Confessor (+662). This is considered one of the great description/definitions of the Church: the Church as the Sacrament of Unity, in which a multiplicity of human persons from every conceivable walk of life, are united in the Body of Christ. In the Church, the paradox holds true in a way no other human institution can claim: Unity in diversity; diversity in unity.