20221202 SPIRITUAL DARKNESS
02 December, 2022, Friday, 1st Week of Advent
First reading | Isaiah 29:17-24 © |
In a very short time, the deaf will hear and the eyes of the blind will see
The Lord says this:
In a short time, a very short time,
shall not Lebanon become fertile land
and fertile land turn into forest?
The deaf, that day,
will hear the words of a book
and, after shadow and darkness,
the eyes of the blind will see.
But the lowly will rejoice in the Lord even more
and the poorest exult in the Holy One of Israel;
for tyrants shall be no more, and scoffers vanish,
and all be destroyed who are disposed to do evil:
those who gossip to incriminate others,
those who try at the gate to trip the arbitrator
and get the upright man’s case dismissed for groundless reasons.
Therefore the Lord speaks,
the God of the House of Jacob,
Abraham’s redeemer:
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale,
for he shall see what my hands have done in his midst,
he shall hold my name holy.
They will hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
stand in awe of the God of Israel.
Erring spirits will learn wisdom
and murmurers accept instruction.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14 © |
The Lord is my light and my help.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
The Lord is my light and my help.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
The Lord is my light and my help.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
The Lord is my light and my help.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Is45:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Send victory like a dew, you heavens,
and let the clouds rain it down.
Let the earth open and bring forth the saviour.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Behold, our Lord will come with power
and will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 9:27-31 © |
'Take care that no-one learns about this'
As Jesus went on his way two blind men followed him shouting, ‘Take pity on us, Son of David.’ And when Jesus reached the house the blind men came up with him and he said to them, ‘Do you believe I can do this?’ They said, ‘Sir, we do.’ Then he touched their eyes saying, ‘Your faith deserves it, so let this be done for you.’ And their sight returned. Then Jesus sternly warned them, ‘Take care that no one learns about this.’ But when they had gone, they talked about him all over the countryside.
SPIRITUAL DARKNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 29:17-24; PS 27:1, 4, 13-14; MT 9:27-31]
We are all afraid of the dark. Not only children but even adults are afraid of darkness because we cannot see. Dangers lurk in darkness because often our enemies attack us when we are not able to see and defend ourselves. Darkness is always associated with evil. All evil is done in the dark because we are afraid of being shamed when our wrongs are exposed, especially by self-appointed Vigilante Corp Members in the Social Media. That is why we all desire to live in the light. Losing our eyesight is certainly a frightening possibility, especially for those suffering from glaucoma. Without eyesight, we feel crippled and cut off from the world.
Whilst this is true of physical blindness, many of us hardly think of the dangers of spiritual blindness. Most of us are suffering from spiritual blindness but we live as if we are not blind. Just as a person with physical blindness can trip and fall and hurt himself, more so a person with spiritual blindness. He hurts himself, his family and the rest of society because he engages in actions that are selfish, self-centered, divisive and destructive of unity. When we live evil and immoral lives, our actions will destroy our well-being, physical health, spiritual peace and relationships with others.
The greatest form of spiritual blindness is relativism because we declare that there is no truth and if there were, it cannot be found. Things are changing and circumstances are changing. So there can be no absolute unchanging truth. The only thing that is absolute and the only truth is that things are always changing. So we can no longer say something is right or wrong but that it is a matter of choice and preference. Tastes and values change over time. Adultery and fornication were once seen to be wrong. Today, these are acceptable because we claim we are thinking adults! Gay rights are today extolled over marriage rights. Relativism undergirds the ideology of absolute freedom of the individual, even over the rights of the larger community.
However, the ultimate form of spiritual blindness is when one is unable to see God in his life. This happens quite often when we feel that God has rejected us. When we meet tragedy in life, we want to push the blame onto someone else, and if no one is found, we blame God for allowing such sufferings, injustices or failures to happen in our lives. We give up on Him because we feel that He is useless and indifferent to our needs and our pains. Indeed, many people in their suffering cannot see the hand of God in their lives. As a consequence, they feel that they can no longer rely on God or anyone. They begin to rely on themselves. When they are able to succeed, instead of thanking God for giving them the grace to do well, they assume the credit for themselves, their hard work and ingenuity. Their temporary success bolsters their self-confidence and conviction that they do not need God in their lives because they can do all things by themselves.
That is why Jesus came not just to heal those of us suffering from physical blindness; He came to heal all of us from spiritual blindness. In His inauguration message, the Lord cited from the Prophet Isaiah, “He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” (Lk 4:18) Blindness and captivity are more than just physical blindness and incarceration. What we need to be set free from is our negativities, pride, self-centeredness and intolerance of others who we think are weak and who have fallen into sin. Indeed, Jesus did not heal all the blind people in Israel but He came to heal all of us who are spiritually blind. After healing the two blind men in the gospel, “Jesus sternly warned them, ‘Take care that no one learns about this.'” This is because Jesus wanted the people not to be focused on the external and the spectacular but to lead them to conversion.
Indeed, what is most needed today is for us to go to Jesus to seek the light. Only Jesus who is the Light of the World can show us the meaning and purpose of life. This is what the psalmist says, “The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?” Jesus as the Word of God enlightens us in the truth. What is this ultimate truth? It is our calling to be with God at the end of our life. “There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple. I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!'”
But to come to the light, we must first stop blaming others and recognize our sinfulness. “Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see’, your sin remains.” Indeed, this was the attitude of the two blind men. They did not excuse themselves or blame God or people for the situation they were in. They simply followed after Jesus shouting, “Take pity on us, Son of David.” If we want to be healed of our blindness, we must first admit that we are blind. The irony of the world is that everyone, like the Pharisees, claims they are right and they have no sin. They know everything. No one tells them what to do. If something goes wrong, it is always the fault of others.
Secondly, we must have faith in Jesus. Faith is a pre-requisite for having our eyes opened. “And when Jesus reached the house the blind men came up with him and he said to them, ‘Do you believe I can do this?’ They said, ‘Sir, we do.’ Then he touched their eyes saying, ‘Your faith deserves it, so let this be done for you.’ And their sight returned.” Obviously like them, many of us want to be healed of our sicknesses and blindness. We want to be set free from our anger and inability to forgive and let go. We want to be freed from our insecurity. But we cannot unless we surrender our lives to Him and are willing to hand over our entire self to the Lord. This is what the Lord expects of us. And that was what the two blind men did. They gave themselves to the Lord and He healed them.
Thirdly, faith comes from hearing. St Paul wrote, “But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Rom 10:14f) Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah when the prophet consoled the Israelites that the Light would come and the deaf would hear. “The Lord says this: In a short time, a very short time, shall not Lebanon become fertile land and fertile land turn into forest? The deaf, that day, will hear the words of a book and, after shadow and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see.”
Seeing comes from hearing with faith. When we hear the Words of Jesus and respond to His call, we will begin to see again. Then we will see the wisdom of God at work even in our suffering and pain. We will be able to accept all that happens to us in life, trusting in God’s wisdom and plan for us. Indeed, “no longer shall Jacob be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale, for he shall see what my hands have done in his midst, he shall hold my name holy. They will hallow the Holy One of Jacob, stand in awe of the God of Israel. Erring spirits will learn wisdom and murmurers accept instruction.”
Finally, we must accompany each other to find faith in Christ. It is significant that the two blind men were together in their woes and in their joy of finding Christ. They supported each other to find the Lord to cure them. We too are all blind and as the proverb says, “the blind leading the blind will both fall into the ditch.” So we must lead each other to the Lord, not to ourselves. We must be wary of leaders that lead people to themselves. The truth is that we can never give all that people are asking of us. But God can! “Hope in the Lord.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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