Open the Eyes That Are Blind Jesus wants us to come together so that our light shines brighter and brighter. ------------------------------By Fr. Tom Forrest, C.Ss.R - The most beautiful film I have ever seen depicting evangelization is a Protestant film called The Miracle of Taxilla. Taxilla is the name of a hospital in Pakistan. It is the very best eye hospital in that country, and it’s staffed primarily by two Christian doctors: a man from England and a woman from India. These two doctors are not there to make money, but because they want to share the love of Jesus Christ. As the film begins, a Muslim man comes walking to the hospital, guided by two friends because he can’t see a thing. When he comes into the examining room, one of the doctors shines a flashlight into his eyes, and there is no reaction. The light doesn’t penetrate at all. Then they operate on him, and we see him leaving the hospital with bandages covering both eyes, accompanied once more by his two friends. A day or two later, the man comes back to have his bandages removed. After taking off the bandages, the doctor waves his hands in front of the man’s eyes. And we see a beautiful smile come on this old man’s face. He lifts up his eyes, and tears begin rolling down his face. He can see! In this film, the doctor and the staff tell why they are doing this work. Out of love for Jesus, they want to repeat the kindness of Christ who walked from town and village giving sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. And as you see a man who is blind begin to see, not only do you see tears running down his cheeks, but you put your hand to your face and find the same happening to you. The film ends with this man leaving the hospital, but now he doesn’t need his two friends to help him. As he walks away, he turns back and sees the two doctors, and he waves, and he goes home. We Are Carriers of the Light! What a kind thing to do--to give sight to the blind! But this is your job. Your job is to carry on the mission of Jesus Christ. This world of darkness seems to use more lights than it could ever need: the lights of Broadway and Piccadilly Circus, the lights shining out of television sets and shining down on movie screens, the lights hanging over the streets of perversion in our major cities. But none of it is real. We are carriers of the real light, and when we give sight to the spiritually blind, what can they see? Sometimes, for the very first time in their lives, they can see the greatness of the love of God for them just as that Muslim man did. They can see, perhaps for the first time in their lives, something that God has always seen in them: goodness, because God is bringing that goodness back into the light, back to life. They can see their value as beloved sons and daughters of God. They can see the goodness of others when before they were looking at everyone in the world and thinking that all of them were only evil and bad. They can see the truth that can set them free. And someday, because you brought them into the light, they will see the face of God. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). That’s giving sight to the blind. And if you do that, if you make an effort to do it, if you give up a little bit of time, you will see results. Here’s Jesus’ call to Paul: “I have made you a light to the nations, a means of salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 26:17-18). And he tells each of us that we must speak the words of Christ now. We must be the light of the world. Turn On the Power. Now we all know how big a job it is to get the power back on in this world of darkness. It’s a big job because the devil seems to have all the power. Even some Christians believe he really does have all the power. As soon as they see a problem, they give up. They say, “What can we do? After all, we’re only human.” But in Jesus Christ, we humans can be divinized; we can be made like God. Now my little light, your little light, all by itself could never do this job. That’s why the Holy Spirit wants us to work together. Every one of you is an utterly distinct, magnificently unique work of the creative mind of God. Each of you has your own particular light. But if we want the world to see, we have to bring our lights together and become a people of the light, shining with the wonder and beauty of Jesus Christ. We have to be lamps, burning with the light of Christ. What do you do with a lamp? Well, Jesus tells us what not to do with it, even though too many of us do it anyway. We shove it under the table and hide it. No, Jesus tells us to place it on the tabletop, “so that those entering the room can see” (Luke 11:33). It’s up to you. And if you don’t do it, there’s someone out there who won’t see because you didn’t let your light shine. In order that the whole world can come to see, our lamps must come together, resplendent, as Scripture says, like a city on the mountaintop, shining like a beacon light at sea, leading people to the safe harbor, Jesus Christ. Now, throughout Scripture, God calls us to be nothing less than light to the world. Each one of these is a phrase from Scripture: angels of the light, messengers of the light, children of the light. Do you see the emphasis? We’re called to be people of the light, disciples of the light, until we all one day come together. I’ll see you there, in the heavenly Jerusalem, where “there will be no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God gave it light and the light was the Lamb and the nations shall walk by that light” (Revelation 21:23). “What Can I Do?” Five Ways to Share the Gospel ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) Pray. Devote a part of your regular prayer time to interceding for one or two people whom you think God wants to touch. Be persistent, and trust that the Lord hears you. Also, develop the habit of listening to the Spirit and getting used to his promptings. 2) Forgive. Nothing robs us of our joy and dims the light of Christ in us as much as resentments and lack of forgiveness. It may take time, and we may need to keep going to Jesus for healing and guidance, but it is worth it. Perhaps you can begin by just telling him that you’re ready to be made willing to forgive and bless. 3) Help. Wherever possible, be willing to go out of your way to help people in need. From the local homeless shelter to the neighbor who is sick and would like a kindly visit, there are so many opportunities to share the light and love of Christ without saying a single word. Over time, your witness of loving service will open doors. 4) Smile. Check yourself in the course of the day: “Am I at peace right now? Do I know that the Father has my life in his hands? Can I give over to the Lord any anxiety or frustration?” The more you demonstrate the freedom and peace of Christ, the more your witness will touch others. 5) Share. Don’t be afraid to talk about your faith when the opportunity arises. Talk from your personal experience of how God has touched you, protected you or your family, or given you grace in a time of difficulty. Talk about how your experience of salvation in Christ has freed you from sin and given you confidence in the love God has for you. Let Your Light Shine! Do you believe that you can be a living miracle in your neighborhood?. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the vision God gives us--to work together to be a light in this world of darkness. This is where we’re supposed to be going, and we’re supposed to be able to see the way because each of us is helping to illuminate the way for one another. This vision is not like that other vision called television, where you sit passively observing silliness and worse, and going out and doing nothing. No, this vision is an invitation. It is an opportunity, a calling from God to go out and do something great for God, to do something great with God and with each other for the salvation of the whole world. We must understand that before everything else, our own lamps must be lit with the unmistakable glow of the holiness of Jesus Christ. That’s the light that leads the way. When people meet us, they have to be meeting Christ in all of his love, in all of his goodness, in all of his holiness. They must be seeing the Holy One of God in us. That’s what we call witnessing. It’s the highest form of witnessing, to glow in this world with the goodness and holiness of Christ. We cannot waste time hiding the light under a table, putting it under a bushel basket with what is an absolutely false humility. We must let that light shine, and we must cry out with Mary, “God has done great things in me, and holy is his name” (Luke 1:49). Be a Saint. If you have ever had the privilege of being with Mother Teresa, before you left her, you would have naturally said, “Mother, please pray for me.” And before she left you, she would have said to you, “Please pray for me.” But then she would have added something else: “Pray that I do not damage the work of God.” I remember being with her at the first worldwide retreat for priests. A sister from Ireland was asked to accompany her and take care of her, but she couldn’t do much for her. Mother Teresa would-n’t even take a cup of tea, she lived so simply. But this sister had the chance to talk with this well-known, recognized saint. So she asked, “Mother, when they introduce you and they call you a living saint, how do you feel?” Mother Teresa replied, “That’s what we’re all supposed to be. And when they say it, I just let it go in one ear and out the other.” There’s another story about Cardinal Suenens from Brussels. Once, he was in Rome attending the canonization of a saint from Belgium. After the Mass, a reporter asked him, “What is a saint?” And Cardinal Suenens said, “A saint is a normal Christian. Our trouble is we’re all too abnormal.” Now I loved Mother Teresa. I counted her a real friend. But I have one complaint about her. Do you want to hear what it is? I have only one complaint: It’s not enough. Every single one of you should be doing in this world exactly what she did, shining with the light of Christ, letting the light of his holiness, his goodness, love, his dependence upon the Heavenly Father light the path for others. Be a people of light. Bring your light together, and shine together. During this new millennium of grace, lift up an absolute storm of prayer for the darkness to be swept away and for the light to shine. The Battle of Prayer. I want to tell you a story from Scripture that says how you should pray. This is a story about the people of Judah being called together to prayer in a time of battle. Let me give it to you in a paraphrase from 2 Chronicles 20. “All of Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, with their wives, and their children. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord in worship. And the Levites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. Jehoshaphat, the king, appointed some to sing to the Lord, and some to give praise. They sang and they thanked God for his mercy and enduring love. They came to Jerusalem, to the house of the Lord with harp and lyre and trumpet, and they won the battle.” We can win the battle, but it will start with prayer. We have to be seen as a people of prayer. We have to be known as a people of praise when we go out to do battle. We have to learn to work together in a world where even husbands and wives can’t stay together. Children and parents can’t stay together. But we as a people of God, as the church of Christ, must shine in our togetherness. Be a Miracle. Now if we were in New Orleans, and we all walked outside and walked across the Mississippi River, right on top of the water, that would be impressive. But do you know what that gets? Not much more than chicken feed. If we did that, we’d only be working a miracle. That’s not enough for Jesus. He says be a miracle. Be a miracle of oneness, of unity. Be the one body of Christ. Be the local church. Help each other so that the world can believe, so that the world can see that the Father sent me. In order that the world might see, be united as one body. And then let your light shine in the world. When was the last time you wrote an article for the newspaper? Write one. Send something in to a magazine. Talk about Jesus on the street corners. You don’t have to have a guitar, but if you’re out there, smile. And if somebody says, “You look different because you’re smiling,” be ready to answer. Scripture says, “Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). Do you know what hope means? It means I’m going to have a great tomorrow. If I think I’m going to have a rotten tomorrow, that’s despair. But we can have hope. In your universities, in your factories, in your office buildings, in your ball parks, in every big city and every tiny town of the world, bring light, bring joy, bring happiness. But before anything else, let the light of Jesus Christ’s holiness shine in you. Holiness and Evangelization. In his great document The Mission of the Redeemer, the Holy Father says that there is an intimate connection between our call to holiness and our call to evangelize. When we bring our light into the mission field, we have to make sure it’s shining with the holiness of Jesus. What does that mean? It means that if you skip the mission to evangelize, you’re no saint, and it means that if you’re no saint, you won’t do a great job at the mission. You have to do both. Can we let the Holy Spirit bring our lights together? He’s good at that. His light can shine within us, and as we come together, this combined light is capable of illuminating the whole world. If we do that, we will see the light of Christ spreading around the world. Let’s make this our goal, so that we can see the great prophecy of Isaiah 9:2 come to pass: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. And on those who live in the shadow of death, light has shined.” The name of that light is Jesus Christ. You are a people of the light. Now carry the light. Be kind, be loving, be angels, messengers, people, children of the light, and I’ll see you some day, and together we will see the face of God in the light of the Lamb. Amen. Reprinted from The Word Among Us, with permssion. Please visit their website at: www. wau.org Top