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The weather this semester has been wonky. Unseasonably warm most days, with the occasional drop in weather and timid rain storm. This week? A mess. The rain and snow never seem to stop. I went to take the dog out over lunch the other day, only to find my basement flooded. Folks from physical plant and custodial services have been going in and out of the house to get things working again and cleaned up. They’ve been great, despite the sheer amount of work they’ve got on their plates.
In the midst of all the chaos, I’ve been placing the dog in one of the guest rooms to keep him out of everyone’s hair. When I let him out today, I glanced out the front window at the snow blowing around and I caught a glimpse of the daffodils outside my house beginning to bloom. Just barely, but enough to take notice. Perhaps they will prove themselves resilient in the windy, snowy weather this week and bring with them the bright new whites and yellows that are hidden among the buds.
Life always finds a way. What has appeared all but dead, lost to the cold this week, has been brought to life - an imprint of the Easter season.
Life rises from the dark and cold clutches of death. With it, our world will be, once again, full of color and beauty and chirping sparrows. And while the world remains in the clutches of fear and violence, it is life and beauty that still finds a way.
It is no mistake that the Easter season takes place near the full bloom. God’s creative love stands as a reminder that the richness of life and of beauty will always return, even if we find ourselves in the grip of the dark and the cold. God has turned a renewed light on, shining brightly, illuminating paths, and bringing about the consoling warmth that is good for the soul.
I know it’s a busy time of year, and there are a million things you need to do before the semester ends. But this time of year is a gift, a reminder to open our eyes to the fruits of God’s creative love.
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With so much vying for our attention in the information age, what do we choose to look at? Who do we choose to place our attention on? And why?
In this week’s Gospel, Jesus chooses to see the innocence of the blind man on the side of the road. He easily could have walked by the vulnerable man, surrounded by his entourage of disciples doting on his every word, but he didn’t come to earth to pass by our suffering with indifference.
Instead, he affirmed the inherent worth and blamelessness of the disabled man and publicly healed him, “so that the works of God might be made visible through him,” making it clear that it was the Pharisees, who were truly blind to Christ’s presence in their midst.
The Pharisees didn’t value Jesus or the blind man - they valued the rules, the framework, the lens they’d been trained to see people through. By following the religious customs of their time and condemning everyone who didn’t, they were doing everything right in their own eyes.
The question is: what rules blind us to seeing the value of innocent, suffering human beings around us? What mindsets do we prioritize over seeing the inherent worth in marginalized people, who are in need of some attention, love, and healing? Who do we judge and decide is unworthy of our time? Who do we feel superior to?
Over Spring Break, 27 Ambrosians are embarking on service trips. We will be journeying to Global Brigades in Honduras, Jerusalem Farm in Kansas City and Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. We will be given opportunities to clearly see the inherent goodness of vulnerable people and the injustice, which causes them to suffer through no fault of their own.
But truly, we don’t need to travel far to be the hands and feet of Christ to those in need. Saint Teresa of Calcutta advised us to “Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely, right where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you can find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society — completely forgotten, completely left alone.”
Lord, bless us with eyes to see the inherent goodness of people, who are suffering in our midst, hearts that want to serve, and the grace to share our gifts in a way that is meaningful to others. Saint Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us to clearly see our mission, like you did.
