Journeying to Grace

It has been many years, but I fondly recall a memorable bible study session at my church. The facilitators were two wonderful older women who truly loved to share their faith and came with decades of profound spiritual experiences and prayerful encounters with the Lord. At this gathering, they stood in the middle of our chairs arranged in a roomy circle. They would be acting out a scene from the bible but without words – only actions. They were sure we would know which scene it was right away but invited us to focus on and be open to the actions and interactions of the two characters. I was intrigued and wondered if this portrayal would be a strong prayerful experience for me. It was, especially as I think about the two of them and their ‘performance’ every time I hear this Gospel reading.

The first movement of this scene involved one of our guides kneeling, pretending to spit on the ground, and ‘mixing’ in the pretend dirt on the ground with her fingers before putting it into her hands. She then lovingly and gently ‘applied’ the mixture to the other’s eyes. I remember the compassionate look on her face and the special care she took in tending to such a delicate part of the body. Last weekend, we heard this familiar and remarkable story of God’ s merciful love in the miracle of Jesus restoring sight to the blind man. (John 9:1-7, longer version 1-41) When I visualize this scene in prayer, I use an imaginary ‘pause’ button to suspend this moment. I want to stay there and try to imagine how it would feel to have the Lord’s healing hands on my eyes. I want to be fully aware of the complete attention Jesus gives to just one. It’s a powerful moment of divine love. Perhaps, in this instance as my bible study leaders showed, witnessing the act of love, healing, and giving renewed sight expresses more than words could.

We seek that gift of restored spiritual sight, so we can better recognize the light of the Lord’s presence, where He is working in us, and that we’re receiving His complete attention. When our spiritual sight is clouded or obscured by our challenges, hurts, and struggles, the Light of Christ that we’re invited to may seem far away or hidden. But with faith and trust, and with His healing hands on our eyes, we know that behind our clouds of doubt and discouragement, the Light of Christ remains. It does not go away; it does not leave us as we wait in hope for the clouds to pass.

Poetically, the woman who performed Jesus’s actions eventually had severe vision issues for several years. When we visited her and her sight was minimal, she continued to faithfully profess the Glory of God. Let us pray that with restored spiritual vision, we see, feel, and know the light of Christ which desires to break through the clouds in our hearts and reveal to us the Glory of God at work in our lives.