Lesson 32 - Lord Jesus, Open Our Eyes

(Lesson 32)

Second Scrutiny – Lord Jesus, Open Our Eyes

"… And the blind man said to him, "Master, let me receive my sight." Mark 10:51

Discussion Guide:

Spiritual blindness is an epidemic sickness in today’s society. The world around us is constantly sending messages that contradict the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look at a typical magazine rack in any store and notice the “in your face” promotion of vanity, greed, sexual immorality, violence, irreligion, and the occult. Sinful and perverse material is often openly on display at your local newsstand! Turn on your television set and you will quickly be shown what the world holds out as its standards of success: fancy cars, big houses, expensive vacations, physical attractiveness, and easy money. These can become modern day idols if we pursue them ahead of our pursuit of God. To make matters worse, many television preachers advocate what is known as the “prosperity gospel”. It is usually disguised in a smattering of carefully selected Bible verses. It gives you the following impression: “Don’t ask what you can do for God; ask what God can do for you! Rather than putting God first in our lives, do we treat God like a waiter who should be at our service? Nothing is impossible with God, but we must learn the difference between wants and needs. Remember this: Our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us better than we do.

As Christians, we need to be on guard against spiritual blindness because none of us is immune from it. We must open the eyes of our heart and listen to the Master say, “For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” We must put God first, everyone else second, and ourselves last! Jesus promises that the first will be last in the Kingdom of Heaven and the last will be first. We need to see beyond the love of money, instant gratification, and worldly success. Let us imitate the Lord who came to serve and not to be served. If your material goods have a higher priority than your spiritual goods, reverse your priorities. St. John tells us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

Discussion Points:

· Put God first, everyone else second, and yourself last (You will be blessed)

· Jesus is the light of the world who brightens our pathway through life

· Follow the ways of the gospel instead of the ways of the world

· Do not get obsessed with the accumulation of worldly possessions

· Guard your hearts and minds from ungodly entertainment

· Be a good witness to the truth of the gospel in your everyday life

· Beware of those who preach worldly prosperity and promise an easy life

Luke Chapter 12:1-9, 16-34

In the meantime, when so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they trod upon one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows." And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well.

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Second Scrutiny – Lord Jesus, Open Our Eyes

"… And the blind man said to him, "Master, let me receive my sight." Mark 10:51

Opening Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to say along with the blind man, “Now I can see”! Help me to recognize any area of my life where I may be spiritually blind. The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love him, a mighty protection and strong support, a shelter from the hot wind and a shade from noonday sun, a guard against stumbling and a defense against falling. He lifts up the soul and gives light to the eyes; he grants healing, life, and blessing. (Sir 34:16-17)

Theme:

We are all vulnerable to the disease of spiritual blindness. It is easy to get caught up in the pursuit of worldly possessions and an immoral lifestyle. If we seek first his Kingdom, God will provide us with all that we need.

Bible Reading:

John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. …..As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man." ….They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them. So they again said to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." …They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you." He said, "Lord, I believe"; and he worshipped him.

Explanation of the Bible reading: Because he is a loving God, Jesus takes pity on the man born blind. First, he cures the man of his physical infirmity. Then he gives him the grace to believe. In spite of the agreement to expel any believers in Christ from the synagogue (John 9:22), the cured man gave a courageous witness to the faith when confronted by the Pharisees. Like all the miracles that Jesus performed, this one has a spiritual significance as well as an obvious physical one. We are all born blind in a spiritual sense. This is why we must be born again of water and the Spirit! (John 3:5) Only Jesus can open the eyes of our hearts so that we can live in a state of grace and in the friendship of Almighty God. We need Christ to guide us through the pitfalls that so often befall us in our daily walk through life. The blind man’s words, “Lord, I believe” should be on our lips at all times. The Pharisees, being truly blind and hypocritical, have the audacity to call Christ a sinner because he did a good work on the Sabbath. It should also be noted that in making use of earthly material (clay and water), Jesus is reinforcing the sacramental principle of the Catholic Church. Grace from the sacraments can wash away the spiritual blindness that frequently keeps the truly important things in our lives hidden.

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

588 Jesus scandalized the Pharisees by eating with tax collectors and sinners as familiarly as with themselves. Against those among them "who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others", Jesus affirmed: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He went further by proclaiming before the Pharisees that, since sin is universal, those who pretend not to need salvation are blind to themselves.

1723 ….All bow down before wealth. Wealth is that to which the multitude of men pay an instinctive homage. They measure happiness by wealth; and by wealth they measure respectability. . . . It is a homage resulting from a profound faith . . . that with wealth he may do all things. Wealth is one idol of the day and notoriety is a second. . . . Notoriety, or the making of a noise in the world - it may be called "newspaper fame" - has come to be considered a great good in itself, and a ground of veneration.

2534 …."Lust of the eyes" leads to the violence and injustice forbidden by the fifth commandment. Avarice, like fornication, originates in the idolatry prohibited by the first three prescriptions of the Law….

2536 The tenth commandment forbids greed and the desire to amass earthly goods without limit. It forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their attendant power. It also forbids the desire to commit injustice by harming our neighbor in his temporal goods:
When the Law says, "You shall not covet," these words mean that we should banish our desires for whatever does not belong to us. Our thirst for another's goods is immense, infinite, never quenched. Thus it is written: "He who loves money never has money enough."

2541 The economy of law and grace turns men's hearts away from avarice and envy. It initiates them into desire for the Sovereign Good; it instructs them in the desires of the Holy Spirit who satisfies man's heart.
The God of the promises always warned man against seduction by what from the beginning has seemed "good for food . . . a delight to the eyes . . . to be desired to make one wise."

2544 Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them "renounce all that [they have]" for his sake and that of the Gospel. Shortly before his passion he gave them the example of the poor widow of Jerusalem who, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on. The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven.

2545 All Christ's faithful are to "direct their affections rightly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches which is contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty."

2547 The Lord grieves over the rich, because they find their consolation in the abundance of goods. "Let the proud seek and love earthly kingdoms, but blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." Abandonment to the providence of the Father in heaven frees us from anxiety about tomorrow. Trust in God is a preparation for the blessedness of the poor. They shall see God.

2548 Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude of God. "The promise [of seeing God] surpasses all beatitude. . . . In Scripture, to see is to possess. . . . Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which he can conceive."

2549 It remains for the holy people to struggle, with grace from on high, to obtain the good things God promises. In order to possess and contemplate God, Christ's faithful mortify their cravings and, with the grace of God, prevail over the seductions of pleasure and power.

Reflection Questions:

Are there any material goods that compete with your relationship with God?






What are some ways to combat immorality and excessive materialism in our society?






If you won the lottery, what would you do to keep your life centered on Jesus Christ?

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me a vessel of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen