# 1 VERB: TO SEE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary  Time [B]  is, “# 1 Verb: To See.”

Since today’s gospel is about a blind man, Bartimaeus, I  began thinking about seeing as a theme for today’s homily. [Cf.  Mark 10: 46-52,]

The prayer of the Blind Man is a great prayer for all of us.

“Master, I want to see.”

Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is going by and he screams out for pity.

Jesus stops and calls him over to see him.

Jesus says to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man knows exactly what he wants, “Master,  I want to see!”

Is the number 1 verb in life: to see?

If there was an app on our phone that caught every word you said, every verb we used, for a week or for a month, what verb would win?

TEDDY MEEHAN

In the seminary, we had a great history professor: Teddy Meehan.

There was a time there we decided to count how many times in a given class period - an hour - how many times he would say to us - ask us, “Do you see?”

After class we compared notes. I had 243 times. Someone else said, “241”. Someone else said, “240”.

“Do you see?”

Teddy wanted to be understood.  Teddy wanted us to get, to know, to grasp, what he was talking about.   “Do you see?”

EVERYONE OF US

Every one of us is Teddy.

Every one of us is that blind man.

Every one of us wants to be understood.

Every one of us wants God to see what we see.

Every one of us wants to see what God is seeing.

Every one of us is asking God to see what we see.

Every one of us wants those we live and work with to see how we see.

Every one of us wants to understand how the other person understands.

Every one of us is trying to get the other person.

Every one of us wants the other to get us.

Every one of us turns on the television to  see who is sending bombs or shooting people in Pittsburgh.

Every one of us wants to see motives.

Every one of us wants to know.

Hamlet - according to Shakespeare - asks, “To be or not to be, that is the question.”

Is Hamlet, is Shakespeare wrong? Should he have said, “To see or not to see, now that is the question.”

Teilhard de Chardan - the French Jesuit - priest, anthropologist, paleontologist said, “The whole of life can be found in the verb to see.”

After I read that I began to notice now many times every day people say, “Oh I see!”  Or “See, I get it.” Or “She’s blind!” “No. I don’t get it.”

SOME OTHER HOMILY QUESTIONS FLOWING OUT OF THIS

Agree or disagree?  Nobody sees it the same way I see it.

Agree or disagree? When I say, “I see what you’re getting at, I really don’t.”

Agree or disagree? It would be better to keep asking, “What are you trying to say?”

Agree or disagree? Sometimes other people don’t know how and what they are seeing.

Agree or disagree? Pat Lynch who used to be a priest here at St. Mary’s. He once said in a sermon.  “Nobody has ever seen a motive walking down the street.” Then he took his fingers and walked them across the pulpit. Nope. Motives are invisible.

Agree or disagree? This week,  I’ll think about what you said this morning.

Agree or disagree? The # 1 verb is to see?

CONCLUSION

Do you see?

I think I see what you’re getting at?

I think you’re saying, “To ask, to beg, to listen, to try to see what others are trying to saying - to understand how others are seeing life.”