March 13, 2023 | By Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr.
March 13, 2023 | By Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr.
“I was blind, but now I see.”
Today is “Laetare [lay-TAR-ay] Sunday,” the Sunday of rejoicing. Although we are only mid-way through the Lenten season, we rejoice, because we know that Christian penance does not end in sadness, but in a closer communion with God.
In our Gospel, the man born blind from birth had reason to rejoice. Jesus had given him the ability to see for the first time in his life. However, Jesus gave this man more than just his physical sight. He gave him sight through the eyes of faith. The man went from telling the Pharisees that “the man Jesus” cured him, to telling Jesus “I do believe, Lord.”
Through the eyes of faith, this man’s growth in spiritual sight, allowed him to go from seeing Jesus as a man, to seeing Jesus as the Lord. At the same time, the Pharisees could not believe their own eyes. Their spiritual blindness would not allow them to rejoice with this man who was given the miracle of sight.
The Pharisees could not see as God sees, because they lacked faith. That is why 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.”
Jesus’ message to us should be clearly seen. We do not want to be veiled in spiritual blindness like the Pharisees. Spiritual blindness makes us feel empty, judgmental, envious, suspicious, afraid, depressed, and lonely. Jesus calls us this Lent to open our hearts to Him. He wants to heal our spiritual blindness and restore the spiritual sight He gave us in Baptism.
Spiritual sight is our growth in faith. It begins by moving closer to Jesus, so that we can give Him the opportunity to help us regain our sight. We need to move closer to Jesus through prayer, fasting from our desires, placing God’s will first, and in acts of charity to those to whom we can share our God-given gifts. “Jesus said to the blind man, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man replied to him, ‘Master, I want to see.’”