Father Chris – THIRTIETH SUNDAY ORD TIME 2021 - Homily

 "Lost, But Now I see"

​Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968 (87)
Companions: Anne Sullivan, Polly Thomson, Winnie Corbally
 
“We’re poor little lambs who have lost their way … ” and “Three blind mice …”!
Basically, the human condition spelled out in timeless nursery rhymes we have all heard or sung at some time in our childhood. Indeed, are we not all essentially ‘lost’, and in a sense ‘racing around’ day after day trying to avoid the ‘carver’s knife’ like the poor little blind mice?
 
Humanity has been lost and blind since the beginning of time. We can find ourselves lost in the stress of over-scheduled lives, lost in the shopping mall, sometimes so distracted we lose sight of where we left our cars in the parking lot.
The big problem is when we realize we may have lost our way in life: lost our sense of community, our sense of values and ethics, lost our trust in science, medicine, politics, our schools and financial institutions, and sadly, lost our trust in each other, and, very tragically, lost trust in our Creator, God.
 
But this being lost in life is a result of blindness. Too often we are blind to the good things in life we do have, the many privileges others do not have – food on the table; work and the ability to work; reasonable health which is now monitored, assessed, and cared for like never before in the history of human kind; a safe place to raise our children; and every kind of thing we could ever need or want within our grasp. We have so much, but can be blind to much of it, because we get lost in our own inner darkness! Sadly, we can become so preoccupied with trying to find our way, we are blind to the love and support being offered to us from many around us: caring neighbours, our police force, medical professionals, church members, the teachers who care for our children, even the love and support from our own spouses and children themselves, and most especially and most importantly from God.
 
Except for Bartimaeus himself, Helen Keller is perhaps the most famous blind and deaf person in history. Anne Sullivan, a teacher for the deaf and blind, helped Helen find her way through the darkness to become much more than an iconic celebrity. In fact, Helen was once listed as 1 of the 10 most dangerous women in America. Why?
 
Because she was a huge advocate for the poor and suffering, civil rights, women’s right to vote, equal opportunities for education, work with equal wages, and a safe, clean environment for both black and white people. “It can’t be unreasonable to ask for the well-being of every human being, because we are all members of one body.” Mark Twain said, “There are two people we can learn from in this life: Napoleon, who sought to change the world by the power of physical force, but lost; and Helen Keller who sought to change the world by the power of the mind, and won.”
 
Helen said her ‘hands’ were her eyes and ‘touch’ was her voice. Visiting the wounded from WWII who lost their sight and hearing, she called them comrades on the road of darkness and silence. “The variety of their hands is infinite: hands hardened by manual labour; slender hands [trembling] with thought; powerful, nervous hands; hands defaced by burns, torn by violence.” We can only imagine how the hands of Jesus must have felt to Bartimaeus as he clutched them in earnest praise and gratitude for restoring his sight, so he could find his way to salvation.
 
Later, consoling the dying, Helen would say, “I believe when the eyes of [our] physical eyes open upon the world to come, [we] shall just simply be living in the country of [our] hearts, where God dwells.”           
 
Do you still feel lost? Exhausted, frustrated with the pandemic, tired of being dependant on others? Maybe disappointed at not being able to attend church?
 
An old song sung by Gracie Fields called, “At The End Of The Day”, tells us:
“When the new dawn begins to break, just “open your eyes”, let your heart awake,
be ready to meet what the day may send, and ready to greet every one as a friend.
Nobody knows what a power you have found, so do what you can for all others around; Carry them high when they seem to be low, as on your way you go. So,
at the end of the day just kneel and say, ‘Thank you, Lord, for my work and play’.
I’ve tried to be good, for I know that I should, that’s a prayer at the end of the day.”
 
Keep strong. Be patient. Keep the faith. Before we realize it, we will be able to sing the words of a favourite hymn again with all the confidence of others lost and blind before us: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”  
    
– Rev Fr Christopher Tracey, Saint Joseph Parish, Saugeen Shores, Ontario