4th Sunday of Lent A April 3 2011
Now I think I know where the expression: “Here’s mud in your eye” came from.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.
Father Carr, associate pastor at Saint Simons in the 1960s, once told the story of a person, who was sent out though the hills to look for weeds. When he returned, empty handed, he was asked about the flowers on the hillsides, but the man did not see any flowers. He was looking for weeds!
During that same homily Father Carr told of a small town where one of the town fathers often stuck around at the local store at the edge of town. A car with a U-Haul trailer pulled up and while the driver was buying supplies for his new residence he struck up a conversation with the ‘old timer’. The new comer asked “what kind of town is this, for example, are the folks here friendly?” A question was the response: “How were the folks in the town you are moving from?” The new comer explained that they were wonderfully friendly. “Well, I think you will find our folks to be just as friendly” was the old timer’s answer.
The next day, another U-Haul arrived and the same thing happened with a new arrival who asked the same question. This new comer explained that the people in his former town were pretty mean-spirited. The old timer replied: “Well, I think you will find our folks to be pretty much the same.”
Several years ago, one of our sons called to tell us that he was about to buy a used car. I asked him what kind of car he was going to get. Lee was happy to tell us that it was a Chevrolet Lumina. I didn’t tell him at the time, but, I had no idea what a Chevrolet Lumina looked like. But, as I drove around town that week, I spotted a car that I was able to identify as a Lumina. After that, I saw Luminas all over the road and the parking lots. I had been blind to them before I recognized what they were. After I recognized them I could see them and there were a lot of them.
Maybe some of us don’t see what we have in the Eucharist. As we come to realize the grace we can enjoy through this sacrament we can learn to recognize Holy Communion for what it really is: The Source and Summit of our Christian Life.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.
But the Authorities did not want to admit that Jesus might have the where-with-all to make a blind man see! I can understand, somewhat, how they felt. How would you feel if you were the exclusive sales rep for the best and most sought after candles in the country and some guy like Thomas Edison came along and invented the electric light bulb? I suspect that, if it were me, I would do everything I could to convince my customers that candles were here to stay and those electric light bulbs were hazardous and just a fad that would eventually go away. After all it is my livelihood at stake here. I think that is part of the reason, at least, that the Jewish Authorities were so defensive about Jesus and his miracles. [Mr. Procter and Mr. Gamble converted their business from making candles to making bars of soap. They saw the light! But, I think a lot of candle makers went broke.]
Saint Paul was blinded. But his sight was restored. He saw the light and became a most energetic evangelizer for Jesus! Many other people of that time were blind and chose to stay that way. Let’s get our ‘eyes’ checked.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.
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