by Msgr. Joseph P. Calise
Everyone who saw “My Fair Lady” wanted Eliza Doolittle to succeed. Everyone who read “Little Orphan Annie” wanted Annie to be happy. There is something gratifying about witnessing the success of an underdog.
Amazing things can happen when someone believes in us — Eliza had Henry Higgins; Annie had Daddy Warbucks. We all have the Lord who believes in us so much that he challenges us to raise our self-expectations.
Our first reading this weekend, taken from the Book of Samuel, recounts the Lord’s command to the prophet Samuel to go to the home of Jesse in Bethlehem. The Lord had chosen one of Jesse’s sons to be king, and Samuel was to anoint him. When Samuel meets Eliab, he is convinced this is the one, but the Lord says, “No.” The Lord cautions Samuel, “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” When the Lord does not choose any of the seven sons presented by Jesse, Samuel asks if there are any others. Only the youngest, who was tending to the sheep, had not been presented. When the youth came forward, he was anointed as the Lord’s choice, and so David began his ascent to the throne.
We know that after slaying Goliath, David went on to prove himself skillful in battle and wise in leadership — a great king from whose line the Messiah would be born. His family did not even think of calling him in from the fields until Samuel asked, “Are there any others?” But the Lord saw something and started David on his road to greatness.
There is a similarity to the story of the blind man in today’s Gospel. His parents saw him as their child and, no doubt, loved him, but when the authorities questioned them as to how he regained his sight, they quickly stepped out of the picture. The neighbors did not know what to think. The apostles wondered whose sinfulness caused his blindness. The Pharisees saw him as a sinner who dared carry his mat on the Sabbath. But Jesus saw him as a human being who was suffering. Unlike the many who simply presumed he was destined to his lot in life, Jesus believed in his possibilities. Curing him was more important than the day of the week.
This encounter with Jesus opens a new world for the once blind man. It even gives him the courage to eventually confront the Pharisees about their blindness in not being able to recognize Jesus for who he really is.
David became a great king. The blind man becomes a very vocal believer. The Lord saw something in them and touched their lives. That “being seen” by the Lord carries with it a responsibility. David had to consult the Lord in all he did. He needed to remember that his power was contingent upon the Lord’s grace. The blind man, who made it quite clear that he did not know Jesus, enters a spiritual journey that leads him from referring to him as “the man called Jesus” to “prophet,” then “of God,” and finally “Lord” when he finally sees Him face to face. His faith frustrates the Pharisees to the point that they can do no more than evict him from his own interrogation! David and the man born blind reach great heights because the Lord believed in them. Their belief in Him empowered them to reach those heights.
The Lord sees possibilities in each one of us. He wants to remove the blindness that fear and insecurity cause, preventing us from seeing them ourselves. He wants us to see ourselves as he sees us — capable, with his grace, of leading lives that one day will join us to the saints in heaven.
His vision challenges us to respond — possibilities we do not reach for remain only possibilities.
Lent offers us a good opportunity to reflect on how we use the gifts God has given us. Through prayer and meditation, may we come to a deeper knowledge of God’s hopes for us and open our hearts to the grace he gives. He believes in us. May our belief in him lead us to do great things.
Msgr. Joseph P. Calise is the pastor of Transfiguration-St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Maspeth.