The stories of the man born blind, the woman at Jacob's well, and the prodigal son all involve the major character of the story in a new way of seeing.
In the parable of the prodigal son as Jesus tells it, the young man under the duress of being hungry, broke and living in squalid conditions “came to his senses" the text says. Flannery O'Connor, Henry Nouwen, and others have found this phrase from the sacred text to have resonance for the narrative of their lives.
We don't know if the woman Jesus met at Jacob's well went back to live with the man with whom she had been living outside of marriage, but we do know that she enthusiastically responded to the Jesus' invitation for the living water even after it meant giving up a fiction she had about her own life. And she invites others in her village to see if Jesus doesn't bring a simular change to their understanding of themselves. But why does Jesus demand that she bring her husband, her real husband, with her to receive the living water? What is with that? This only makes sense from the perspective of that new life that Jesus is inviting her to.
And that man born blind-- he received more than just physical sight when he was annointed by Christ and then washed himself in the pool of Siloam. He received strength to confront the synagogue authorities with the truth of who he is and did not shrink at the prospect of being expelled from the temple. And even more importantly Jesus extends to him the opportunity to see spiritually and to acknowledge Jesus as the "Son of Man." The story reveals that Jesus came not just that the blind might see, but of equal importance “that those who see, should become blind.”
Each story, in its own way, is about the coming of the Kingdom (the love of God) within the individual and in the world; and about that purity of heart that is required. There is more to this and the other beatitudes than is immediately appearant. These three narratives and many others in the sacred texts reveal the deep meaning of the beatitudes. The beatitudes, taken together, describe in a suprising and poignant way the coming of the Kingdom, the ongoingly creative love of God, as it was revealed in the life that Jesus led and words that he spoke and continues throught the work of the Holy Spirt of God.
This blog is an on-line venue to augment our Sunday morning conversation in the front parlor of the Assumption convent for the alumni of the spiritual exercises. The word "Assumption" in the blog's title is a reference to the role that the Religious of the Assumption play in bringing us together. And "Examiner" is a reference to the role that the Examin plays in our ongoing Spiritual Exercises.
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