God Looks At The Heart

03-19-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Anthony Okolo, C.S.Sp, V.F.

The first reading and the gospel have a common message, in the sense that both readings present to us the human and divine way of seeing things. Most often human judgment is defective because it looks at outside appearance while divine light looks at the inner core of the person, which is the heart. The divine wisdom of God far outweighs the human wisdom and knowledge. God saw something in young David which Jesse and his sons could not recognize. David was in the field tending the sheep of his father when God chose him to be the leader and king of His people. Even though he was young and inexperienced, God saw his heart and chose him to lead His people. His strength and success came not from himself but from God who anointed him with the power and wisdom of His own spirit.

God sees us no matter where we are or may be and can always choose anyone of us and use us as His chosen instrument. God sees the heart and does not look on appearance as humans do, so we should never think we are not qualified or worthy to be used as God’s instrument. Once He chooses us He gives us the power, wisdom and strength to carry out His works. Our own family members or friends may not see the good in us but God, who sees the heart, sees deeper than humans see. Once our heart is pure before God, we are safe and secure.

In the gospel, we are presented with the story of the man born blind from birth. In the healing of this man, Jesus challenges the mindset of the people of His time who attributes such illness to sin. The Jews had understood that infirmities were the result of human folly and sin. While sin can lead to physical, mental and spiritual infirmities, not all sickness is the direct result of sin. Jesus answered that God had allowed this infirmity for a greater purpose which God wanted to demonstrate as a sign of His presence and power. He demonstrates by the healing of the blind man that it was to give glory to God and not because the man had sinned. According to William Barclays, “For John the evangelist, the miracles are always a sign of the glory of God and power of God. But most importantly the glory of God lies in His compassion, and that He never so fully reveals His glory as when He reveals His pity.” Thus, in the healing of the man born blind from birth, we experience the compassion of Jesus towards those in need of His mercy.

On the other hand, the Scribes and Pharisees could not see any good thing Jesus did to this blind man because their minds were closed. They could not understand how Jesus could perform such good deeds on a Sabbath day. At times we become like the Pharisees by blocking our minds to the good we see in other people. We need to open our minds to be able to see God’s goodness every day in our lives and in the lives of other people. We need also to see and acknowledge the good in other people. Nothing can block that divine light of God except sin, and that is why we need to avoid sin in our lives so as to give opportunity to the light of God to enter.

Fr. Tony Okolo C.S.Sp., V.F.