A Matter of What We Do Not See

Things of which we are most afraid, are things we do not see -things to which the naked eye is blind –
We go about blind - forgetting, pretending, pushing away, ignoring-  hidden things that cause sickness, disruption, pain, suffering, grief, and death.
We do not see the presence of viruses and bacteria, toxins and contaminants, on the surfaces we touch or in the air we breathe or in the water we drink. 
We do not see how the decisions we make today will affect -in a global warming, environment in crisis kind of way-  all of creation.
We do not see the tension or level of threat for terrorism, nuclear strikes, or war.
We walk blind.

In church world much time is spent on things we do not see.
Today’s gospel, for instance, goes on and on about sin – trying to figure out who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind.
The story weaves back and forth through a theological debate of invisible sin that has manifested itself in physical blindness; giving invisible sin a tangibility in a specific place and thing.
The story does not point to actions of sin – named as murder, stealing, adultery, or idolatry. The conversation is of ‘sin,’ the cause beyond the action. The perception in the story is that sin is now seen – it is real; it has manifested in blindness. Likewise, Jesus personifies sin by breaking the rules and healing on the Sabbath. The Pharisees ask, How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs? And continue, We know that God does not listen to sinners, but does listen to one who worships and obeys God’s will -God’s will as directed in the written Law. In the process of defining sin – containing that which we do not see- the Pharisees get lost in the tidbits of figuring out ‘how’ the man received his sight, and are blind to ‘who’ did the healing -Jesus- who has physically disappeared from the scene. He is not present, not seen, until he comes to the man-born-blind afterward.
After the man who received his sight is thrown out of the synagogue, Jesus asks him, Do you believe in the Son of Man? Jesus reveals that he is the Son of Man and he who was blind sees for a second time that day. And we enter another realm of -things we do not see- things that the church spends much time on;  things like faith and grace.

Life has been different for the world over the past few weeks. Reflecting on the world through the story of the blind man – the seeing man-  in the Gospel, has helped me in articulating what I have seen and what I do not see but feel.
We walk blind.

The CORONA virus is acting a bit like a mud and saliva poultice.
 For a moment blind has turned to sight.
Often we walk blind - blind to our relationship with the earth – within a week of reduced traffic and flights flying across Europe satellites have captured images that actually see European cities from space– the air has cleared; sight is not fogged up by a continual production of smog.
Often we walk blind - blind to our relationship with each other – as we practice social distancing and self-isolation or quarantine, there is a realization how much we take relationships for granted. We forget how interconnected we truly are – from farmers, to delivery people, to service people; how many people we share playground equipment with, restaurant seats, public transit, sidewalks.
Often we walk blind - blind to our relationship with God – until we are reminded of our fragility and return, or come for the first time, seeking something greater than ourselves to cope with a reality greater than our capacity. The last time I experienced a visible rise in church attendance was the first couple of Sunday’s after 9/11. People returned to hear the Word, and to join with a community of people who were experiencing the same thing.

When the going is good we walk blind.  We tend to become lax -in washing our hands, protecting those around us; we forget our interconnectedness; and our priorities are eschewed from building relationship.

As we wash the mud from our eyes, let us turn our attention to the Gospel to be found in ‘a matter of what we do not see.’

We believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.  This is an ancient confession of the church. Church world has always lived in the known and unknown, seen and unseen, visible and invisible. As Christians:

Things of which we are most confident – bold;  are things we do not see- things to which the naked eye is blind –
We go about blind – remembering, revealing, welcoming, acknowledging – hidden things that cause healing, connection, comfort, blessing, hopefulness, and life.
We do not see the presence of Mystery – God: the force of creation, the incarnation of redemption, the energy of consciousness.
We do not see the ‘how’ of the workings of prayer, meditation, and worship.
We do not see faith.
Yet in all these things we do not see – we have utmost confidence through Christ.

We go about blind – remembering, revealing, welcoming, acknowledging – hidden things. I say we go about blind because we are about God’s work, a work that is revealed in its fullness in God’s time. We work in God’s creation, God’s mission, God’s vision – without knowing, without seeing the end.  We offer faith, peace, love, hope, compassion, forgiveness, joy – through words and deeds, knowingly and unknowningly, we plant seeds that come from the light of Christ.
God’s work, from time to time, in our midst turns into God’s work revealed. Although we do not see God, all the time God is with us. There have been moments when people within this community (I know because stories are shared with me) when people have experienced miracles, inspiration, inexplicable occurrences; God-sightings. Just for a moment, greater sight is given and the invisibles like faith grow.  Many have expressed moments when they have experienced grace.  These moments happen wherein we catch a glimpse of God’s fullness and can declare:
 One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.

The things of which I am most afraid are things I do not see.
 The things of which I am most confident and bold, are also things I do not see.
In times like these I purposefully and continually have to redirect my focus to hold onto and uplift the things I do not see in which I am confident – faith, grace, love, Real Presence, God, community, prayer, meditation, worship, relationship -- Living the ‘unseen’ that are reflections of God’s light shining on me relieves anxiety and manages fear. The letter to the Ephesians says it: O blind, awake, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you --- and it is the reflection of this light that plants hidden seeds, resists fear, calms anxiety – allows grace to be directed into a world full of blindness.

This morning the Gospel phrase I will take with me is a statement of faith.  It is a statement made by one who walks blind, and in this past week has been shown the depths of blindness into which I participate.
Thanks to a corrective of sorts, I am no longer blind to my relationship with the earth, blind to my relationship and interconnection with others, blind to my relationship with God and God-community.
One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.

May this statement of faith  reflect in the world through me – through us- consciously practicing the invisibles -that which is not seen-  living into the Mystery that is in all and is all.