If you have ever been in total darkness, you suddenly understand the gift of sight. While visiting Carlsbad Caverns many years ago, they demonstrated that by turning out all of the lights. When you are that far underground, the darkness is total. They warn you not to move and when it goes dark, you don’t want to. Then the lights come back on and you feel relief and the moments in darkness that were anxious are replace by appreciation of light.
Total darkness seems like the worst case scenario, unless of course you have been born blind, then it is simply how life is. I had a colleague who was blind from birth and an excellent therapist. I believe part of that was he was not distracted by how the client might look. Instead, his attention was focused on what he could hear and sense. Even really good therapists don’t start that way, but what makes them good is when they get past looks and can hear the client’s heart.
Jesus was ridiculed for not being educated. The ridicule came from those who were totally blind to what he was saying. And let’s be honest, some of those parables are kinda confusing. Jesus’ answer to them is, for me, like turning the lights in the cave back on. To paraphrase, he told them that those who seek to do things God’s way (seek the will of God) are able to understand what he is saying. Now that is an eye opener…no pun intended.
Think of this, if you are like me you have read the Bible for most of your life. At what point did it start making sense? Or does it? My experience is that the only way to truly understand is to see the world, see people and see life from God’s point of view: Love! When I began to pursue “the will of God”, meaning when I began to try to see the world the way God does, parables and psalms and stories from the Bible started to come into a new focus.
Remember in the model prayer, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”? We know the kingdom of God has come, according to Jesus. But what does it mean to do God’s will on earth like it is done in heaven? I think it is to let go of ourselves and see things God’s way, and to do so joyously without expecting anything in return for doing so. The moment you do God’s will for a reward, yes even to get into heaven, you are no longer doing things like they are done in heaven. You have returned to being self-directed rather than be God directed.
Sight is precious for sure. Sight is more precious when it is a gift that is unexpected, unearned. Think of Jesus word’s from the perspective of God’s love and affirmation for all things in the world. Not from a perspective of punishment, not from disgust because of our “sins”, not across a chasm separating God from us but from deep love for all in this world. Jesus taught that those times when we saw the truth clearly were given to us by God. He told Peter that on more than one occasion. And, God gives us that when we “seek to do his will” which is to love God and the world and ourselves exactly as God does.
Trust me on this one, the Scriptures, life, loved ones, even those you really don’t care for will be seen as if they just turned the cave lights back on. Then, this entire walk with the Divine suddenly makes sense and we have a new appreciation for being able to see.
TMM