We need more than a sight … we need a vision!
In 2019 Apple TV+ featured a TV series called “See”. The story begins with an introduction that in the early twenty-first century, a virus wiped out all but two million people, those surviving having lost their sense of sight. “See” takes place several centuries later, where society has found new ways to socially interact, build, hunt, and survive without the sense of sight. However, everything has challenged when a set of twins were born being able to see with their eyes. This sat in motion a number of dramatic events, journey of survival, but also the sense of hope for better future. Early on it also became obvious that the gift of sight might have changed everything, but it wasn’t everything. They often missed the clues, trusted wrong people or couldn’t noticed the intentions of others. They were able to see, but weren’t observant. They needed more than a sight… You needed a vision!
“Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18
Thankfully the prophesy of the movie hasn’t been fulfilled in our real life. Modern science has eliminated many of the diseases that cause blindness. And we have invented all kinds of devices to improve our seeing. We have ordinary glasses, bifocals, magnifying glasses, field glasses, telescopes, microscopes … We can see more and farther than ever before. But the question is, how well do we see?
Bartimaeus from today’s Gospel was suffering from physical blindness. But there are other forms of blindness. We acknowledge this when we say, “I was completely in the dark,” or “It suddenly dawned on me” or “It was right in front of me but I couldn’t see it.” To see well, good eyesight alone is not sufficient. We need more than a sight… We need a vision!
There are many forms of blindness besides physical blindness. Selfishness might blind us to the needs of others. Ignorance might blind us to the hurt we’re causing to others. Prejudice might blind us to the true dignity of another person. It is not with the eyes only that we see. We also “see” with the mind, the heart, and the imagination. A narrow mind, a small heart, an impoverished imagination– all of these lead to loss of vision, darken our lives, and shrink our world.
May Bartimaeus’ prayer, “My teacher, let me see again”, become ours, so we will be able to embrace God’s vision for our lives. In discerning our vocation, meaning and purpose in life, God offers to us guiding signs, clues and insights. But we have to be able to see and read them! To answer God’s call we need more than an eyesight… We need a vision!
By Jarek Pachocki, OMI
OMI Lacombe Canada – Vocation Director
vocations@omilacombe.ca
