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The
Truth of Blinking
February
16/17, 2008
Fr.
George Smiga
Matthew
17:1-9
It
is a scientific fact that the average person blinks twenty
five times every minute. It is also scientifically verifiable
that the average blink lasts one fifth of a second. What this
means is that if you were to take a ten-hour automobile trip,
driving at fifty miles per hour, you would drive fifty miles
of that trip with your eyes closed. (Now aren't you glad you
came today? Where else can you get this kind of information?)
But hidden in that scientific statistic is an important truth
about life. In life we see certain things very clearly, but
there are also other things, which we do not see, things to
which our eyes are shut. And much like the experience of blinking,
we are largely unaware of the things we do not see, of the
things to which are eyes are closed.
Now
this is what makes the transfiguration in today's gospel so
important for the disciples. They thought they knew Jesus.
They walked with him. They ate with him. They saw him heal.
They heard him preach. Yet they were largely unaware of how
much of Jesus they did not see. In the transfiguration, they
receive a glimpse of Jesus' glory, a flash of his brilliance
which normally they did not see. In the transfiguration, they
were confronted with the mystery of Jesus' death and resurrection
which they had not begun to anticipate. The transfiguration
told the disciples that Jesus was more than they had ever
imagined, that as much as they knew about him, there was even
more that they did not know.
This
experience of the transfiguration provides us with a model
of discipleship. A model which tells us that as we try to
live our lives, we must claim the things that we can see,
the things that are visible, but at the same time, we must
remember that there are many things that we do not see. The
model for discipleship is then a combination of wisdom and
humility: of wisdom to know what is visible, of humility to
remember that there is even more that we do not understand.
Parents
need this model. They are charged to share what they see,
their wisdom, with their children. They are charged to warn
their children about what they feel is harmful and to guide
them to the decisions which they see as the best decisions.
But even as they exercise that wisdom for the sake of their
children, parents must remember that there is a part of every
child which they do not see, a part that is only now emerging.
Parents must respect that part which they cannot see. It is
the only way in which their children will grow to be the persons
God wants them to be.
You
and I must use this model of discipleship every time we interact
with people who are different than us, people of a different
race, nationality, or sexual orientation. There are things
about all of all people which we can clearly see. But we must
also remember that there are parts of every person which we
do not see. It is only by humbly remembering what we do not
see that we can enter into honest dialogue and deeper understanding.
We
must be attentive to this model as we deal with people of
different faith traditions. As Christians, we proudly claim
that Jesus is the way to salvation. Even as we assert that
truth, we must at the same time, realize that God is working
in the lives of other people in ways which we cannot see.
God is active in the lives of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.
Their way to God is something we cannot understand because
it is not our way. Yet we must respect their witness of faith.
This
model of discipleship lastly is crucial as we deal with the
reality of evil in our lives. As followers of Christ, we believe
that all good gifts come from God. So whenever we are blessed
in any way, we rightly claim that this is a sign of God caring
and loving us. But when we experience evil in our life, we
must humbly admit that we do not understand its presence.
We cannot explain why the innocent suffer, why millions of
people die from disease and natural disasters. We do not understand,
we cannot see the reason or the meaning of evil. It is better
to claim that we do not see, than to adopt explanations that
warp the goodness and love of God for us.
A
disciple of Jesus is called to follow him in wisdom and in
humility: in the wisdom which claims the truth we can see,
in the humility which admits that there are other truths that
we cannot see. Both wisdom and humility are necessary. Not
to claim the truth which we can see is to be a fool. Not to
admit that there is the truth which we cannot see is to be
a bigot. The follower of Christ strives to be neither a fool
nor a bigot. We try to be both wise and humble. We try to
remember that we blink. Even as we move forward in the vision
that is given to us, we also acknowledge that there are truths
to which we are blinded. This is the only way to growth. This
is the only way to follow the Master.
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