Eyes Closed

Seeing Jesus better with the eyes of faith.

04/23/2017

John 20:19-31 

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

          Can you see better with your eyes open or with your eyes closed? What a silly question, right? Well, I would suggest to you that when it comes to spiritual and supernatural things, you see better with your eyes closed. Have you ever wondered why lovers close their eyes when they kiss each other? I saw that in the movies once. In a sense, they see better with their eyes closed because they can see their beloved better. Do you recall that riveting final scene in the movie, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”? The Nazis have grabbed the Ark of the Covenant and want to wield it as a weapon for their own perverse purposes. When they open the lid of the Ark, do you remember what Indiana Jones says to Marion? He shouts: “Marion, don’t look at it. Shut your eyes. Don’t look at it, no matter what happens.” The Nazis had their eyes wide open but they were blind to the real Beauty inside the Ark. But those who closed their eyes, on the other hand, looked with the eyes of faith and saw the glory of God. Supernatural things are seen only with your eyes shut.

          One day a man is stumbling by a river totally drunk when he comes upon a preacher baptizing people in the river. He staggers to the river’s edge and subsequently falls in. The preacher turns around and is almost overcome by the smell of alcohol. He asks the drunk: “Are you ready to find Jesus?” The drunk answers, “Yes, I am.” So the preacher grabs him and dunks him in the water. He pulls him up and asks the drunk, “Brother, have you found Jesus?” The drunk replies, “No, I haven’t.” The preacher shocked at the answer dunks him into the water again for a little longer this time. He again pulls him out of the water and asks: “Have you found Jesus, my brother?” The drunk answers again, “No, I haven’t.” By this time the preacher is at his wits end and dunks the drunk in the water again, holding him down for 30 seconds, when he starts kicking his arms and legs, he pulls him up. The preacher asks again: “For the love of God, have you found Jesus?” The drunk wipes his eyes, and catches his breath, and says to the preacher, “Are you sure this is where he fell in?” Folks, you won’t find Jesus with your eyes open; you’ll have better luck with your eyes closed.

          In the gospel today, St. John presents the story of St. Thomas the Apostle; this is the episode that earned him the epithet of “Doubting Thomas.” What was at the root of Thomas’ troubles? He was trying to see the supernatural Jesus with only his natural senses. On Easter, the other apostles jubilantly tell him, “We have seen the Lord!” But Thomas retorts: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands…I will not believe.” A week later (which would be today, the second Sunday of Easter), Jesus appears again, and gently scolds Thomas, saying, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” In other words, Thomas was like that drunk man in the river, trying to find Jesus with his two eyes wide open, when he should have used the eyes of faith. If you want to see the Lord of Love, you must close your eyes when you kiss him.

          My friends, let me put to you the same question that the preacher put to the drunk man, “Brother and sisters, have you found Jesus??” And even if we can answer “Yes, I have!” we know in our heart of hearts that we often lose him and need to find Jesus again. Let me suggest three ways you can find Jesus, and in each case you will need to use your eyes of faith.

          First, you’ll find Jesus in the poor. Recently, 9 missionaries from Immaculate Conception went to Honduras to help the poor. But each missionary was surprised how the poor helped them! The poor helped them to find Jesus, because Jesus is in the poor. Every week volunteers help Dc. Greg and the St. Anne Society and St. Veronica’s Closet to care for the poor here in our own community. But again the poor in turn help them to find Jesus. Pope Francis, in his first major document, called “The Joy of the Gospel,” said: “This is why I want a church which is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us…We are called to find Christ in them” (Evangelii gaudium, 198). Try to see the poor through the eyes of faith and you will find Jesus.

          Secondly, seek Jesus in the sacraments, especially in the Mass. In a few weeks, 155 children will make their First Holy Communion here at I.C. I always remind parents, who are desperately trying to snap a picture of their child at the moment of Communion, that “You’ll see what’s happening in that moment better with your eyes closed than with your eyes open. Instead of fingering your camera for a picture, fold your fingers for a prayer for your children.” As Indiana Jones urged Marion, so I urge our parents: “Don’t look at it. Shut your eyes. Don’t look at it, no matter what happens.” The Ark of the Covenant, with the Bread of Life inside, will be opened for those 155 children. Sometimes our eyes are wide open but we are blind to Jesus, while those who close their eyes in prayer will see the glory of God.

          Finally, and this is the hardest place to find Jesus, seek the Lord inside yourself. But here, again, don’t just use your natural eyes in your head, but use the supernatural eyes of faith. That is, shut your eyes to your physical appearance, and your worldly accomplishments, and the money in your bank account, and your social status.  Instead use the eyes of faith to look deep inside you. Do you where I see Jesus in you? It’s when you kneel in humble confession. I am never more proud of our parishioners than when they are the most humble confessing their sins. You may not think you look like Jesus in confession, but all I see is Jesus in you.

          Let me conclude with some of the loveliest lines in all literature penned by St. Augustine in his classic book called Confessions. After the Bible, it is the most widely read book in history. In Book X of Confessions, he explains how God is closer to him than he is to himself, but sadly that was the last place he searched for God. Augustine, the Doctor of Grace, wrote: “Late have I loved thee, o beauty ever ancient, ever new. Late have I loved thee (we always love Jesus late). You were within me, but I was outside thee, and it was there I searched for you. You were with me, but I was not with you.” Slowly St. Augustine shut his eyes as he searched for God, and he finally found God using his eyes of faith. That’s how the drunk man should have looked for Jesus, and St. Thomas, and you, and me.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!