Glasses are a wonderful invention, aren’t they? They help us to see everything more clearly. And there are many options for glasses, from single lens, bi-focal lenses or progressive lenses. You can have lenses that go from light to dark based on the sun and you can even get protection from the light of your phone and computer. Then there are sunglasses to help you see on those sunny days. And if you don’t like glasses, you can get contacts or surgery to change your sight. I’m nearsighted, so I take my glasses off to read. Unfortunately, I can’t see your faces well.

With all the innovations in glasses that make it so much better to see the world around us and each other, there is one feature we will never get from our glasses. That is seeing into the heart of another person. In fact, even if you don’t have glasses, we struggle seeing into their heart. Many times, we judge another person by their physical appearance. 

God on the other hand sees into our hearts. God tells us directly in our first reading, “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance, but the LORD looks into the heart.” God has perfect spiritual vision where ours is limited.  

And why is that spiritual sight limited? To put it simply, it’s our sin that causes us to have this spiritual blindness. It can be our pride, our selfishness, or our judgmental attitude, where we fail to see the goodness or potential in another person. We become like the Pharisees that thought this man who was blind since birth had no worth or anything they wanted to hear. The blind man spoke the truth, but the Pharisees did not want to hear the truth from someone they look down upon. They were so focused on the fact the Jesus healed the man on the sabbath, they could not see that God was in their midst and the accept the miracle Jesus performed.

There is plenty of division in our world today, and we have only ourselves to blame, because we let the devil fill us with all kinds of thoughts that keep us distracted and away from God. He wants us to be divided, and he is the one keeping us in spiritual blindness, if we let him. 

We only heard part of the Gospel passage today, and I think it’s worth your time reading the entire passage. One of those parts we did not hear comes after the man said he believed in Jesus, then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”  What does this mean?  If you think you are wise, then you are a fool… and if you know you are a fool, then you are wise. In other words, it takes humility to know we are spiritually blind at times and need to be healed by God, where the prideful persons who thinks they know it all are the ones who are truly spiritually blind… but they don’t see it.

When we have trouble seeing the physical world around us, we go to the eye doctor for help. Most times, the doctor offers a corrective lens prescription and we have the option to fill it to see better… or we don’t for reasons known only to ourselves. I know when I was younger, I had siblings that did not wear their glasses because they thought they looked funny in them or maybe they were just stubborn.   

So, it is with our spiritual sight. God, the Great Doctor, has a cure that if we take it and really use it, we can begin to see others as God sees them. And not only others, but ourselves as well.  

Two weeks in a row we heard Jesus tell someone who he is: the Son of God and the Messiah. Both people are changed forever after their encounter with Jesus. 

The prescription for our spiritual blindness is faith and trust in Jesus. Only Jesus can heal us. And just like the blind man, if we can see then we can believe. Our prescription also includes frequent use of the Sacraments. 

Will you be like the blind man or the Pharisees? Will your pride and lack of faith keep you spiritually blind to Jesus, his saving power and offer of salvation, no matter what you see or hear? Or like the blind man, will you surrender yourself to the love and mercy of Jesus, trusting in him above all things and allowing him to heal your spiritual blindness, becoming closer with Him and seeing beyond a person’s physical attributes and into their heart?

I mentioned that it is our sin which impacts our spiritual sight. The good news is that our original sin was washed away at our Baptism. 

And when our spiritual vision becomes cloudy and it’s hard to see Jesus or into the heart of someone, we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation to wash the mud from our eyes and begin again. Receiving Jesus at Communion strengthens you and helps keep your sight focused on Him.

If you want to clear your spiritual blindness, make an appointment with Jesus. A good place is right here in our Adoration chapel. He already knows what you need and is waiting for you to call on him. Tell him your struggles and that you need his help…. and he will hear you.

Ask for the renewal of the gift of Wisdom  you received  from the Holy Spirit at your Confirmation to help you to see as God sees.

And just like the blind man, your encounter with Jesus will change your life in ways you thought were impossible. For nothing is impossible for God.