The Power of Insight
I
will never forget the first time I flew in an airplane. It was a trip
to Cebu and the plane I took was a small one. I was nervous because of
the inclement weather. The sky was dark and the clouds were thick. As
the plane took off, it began to rain hard. To calm my anxiety, I took
out my rosary and started praying. Then I noticed the flight attendant
who was seated facing me. She looked very calm. She even smiled at me
when our eyes met. I said to myself, “Is there something she knows that I
do not know?” All I could see was darkness and heavy rain and there she
was, all smiles and a picture of perfect peace and serenity.
The
plane began to pick up altitude. Up ahead I saw a thick mass of dark
cloud. I started fingering my rosary a little faster. And then it
happened. After passing through a thick black cloud, my eyes were
greeted by bright rays of sunshine. I couldn’t believe it – behind the
cloudy skies was a welcome burst of daylight! While all I could see were
the clouds and the darkness, the flight attendant could see the
sunshine behind it all.
In
today’s Gospel, Jesus restores the sight of two blind men. There seems
to be nothing ordinary with those men, except when they began speaking.
When they called out, they addressed Jesus as “Son of David” and “Lord.”
These are “messianic” titles every Jew anticipates of the coming
Messiah. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time saw Him, but they did not
see Him as the “Son of David” or “Messiah,” or maybe they refused to.
The blind men, on the contrary, did. This goes to show that while they
did not have sight, they had insight into who Jesus is.
On
my first plane ride, sight sowed fear in my heart as I saw nothing but
darkness and clouds. Insight born out of experience gave peace and
serenity to that flight attendant. Sight robbed me of the opportunity to
enjoy my first plane ride. Insight gave the flight attendant a ready
smile and sunny disposition. Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTION: Give a thorn to an insightful man and he will see roses. Give him sand and he will find sea. How about you?
Lord Jesus, grant me the grace of insight more than sight, that I may see the world in a different light. Amen.
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