GIVE ME SIGHT, LORD!

He is a young priest and I am, sometimes, privileged to hear his Mass.  I look forward to his homily – always an unusual take on the day’s Gospel.  He makes me think.  His words are not palliative or passive, and they sometimes (most times!) bring home unwelcome truths.  Even so, hearing them makes the Gospel come wholly alive. 

Yesterday, Jesus cured the blind man.  But first he asked, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Huh? Jesus is God; surely, He knows that the man is asking for sight? And yet he asks the question! He wants to know whether the man has thought of the consequences. Sightless, he invoked pity and could beg for alms.  Sighted, he would have to work and pull his weight.  When we pray and ask for what we desire, do we think of the consequences? Are we willing to take on the consequent challenge? Ouch!

Previous takes on this Gospel reading always taught that Jesus hears prayers, Jesus heals.  Yes, we know that.  Yesterday’s homily woke me up and how.  Here’s the result!

GIVE ME SIGHT, LORD!

Lord, I want to see.

Will you not restore my sight?

            Do you know what you ask?

Yes, Lord!

I ask for sight that I may see

The glorious dawn and sunset,

The moods of the skies as they unfold,

The crest of waves as they break upon the shore -

The glory of all your creation!

            But will you also see the abandoned child,

            The battered woman,

            The homeless man?

            Will ‘seeing’ help you understand?

Give me sight Lord!

I have never known

The myriad hues of flowers,

Or seen the flutter of a bird’s wings;

The anger of the storm,

Or delight on the face of my beloved.

            But will you also see the anguish

            Of a war torn world;

            The desperate outstretched hand…

            Will ‘seeing’ help you understand?

I have felt the earth and know its scent;

But I have never seen its fruit,

Or watched life unfurl

From within its warm embrace:

Will you not let me see, Lord?

Will you not have mercy?

            Mercy is yours and also sight.

            Now, will you work for honest wage

            And share the yield?

            Will you labour in my field?

           

Lord, how could I be so blind?

Or, so selfish be…..

Give me your sight Lord

That I might truly see!