New Ears and New Eyes during Advent and Christmas

Whatever Is True, Good, and Beautiful

During the Advent and Christmas seasons, the Mass readings do not include any passage from Matthew 13. Yet, in that chapter, Jesus provides us an incredibly important lesson, one that is very appropriate for these holy seasons.

In the middle of that chapter, Our Blessed Lord tells us why He teaches in parables. He says the people He has come to save are void of spiritual sight and hearing, because “this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed…” (Mt. 13:13-15).

BY DEREK ROTTY Derek Rotty is a husband, father, historian, theologian. He currently serves as Director of Evangelization & Discipleship at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Jackson, TN. Follow his other writings & videos at www. derekrotty.com.

When we hear this passage, it is easy for every one of us to immediately begin searching for “those people” who are blind and deaf to God’s revelation. Each one of us has a tendency to think, “I got it right and everyone else got it wrong.”

Yet, after a brief moment of pondering, God reveals something deeper. Instead of looking for “those people,” each one of us should be examining our own individual souls. Each of us must take stock of the ways that I have been blind and deaf to God’s ways; to the ways that He wants me to grow and bring His life to the world.

Yes, there very well may be other people in our lives who cannot and do not hear and see God’s message. Still, more importantly, God wants each of us individually to realize the ways that we have erected and maintained obstacles to charity and happiness.

That’s why, in the Sermon the Mount, that great catechesis on Christian morality, Jesus teaches us to remove the beams from our own eyes before trying to remove splinters from others’ eyes (cf. Mt 7:5). It is easy to focus on others’ small problems, but it is more difficult to let the Holy Spirit root out the large spiritual problems in our own hearts.

Each of us must remember, first, that mine are the eyes that cannot see and the ears that cannot hear! Advent and Christmas ought to be about praying for that, daily!

Please do not think of this as bad news. We believe that the grace of God, manifest in the Person of Jesus Christ, can overcome all defects. This is why Jesus says to the apostles, “Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

If I listen to Jesus, especially in the Church and the Scriptures, and gaze upon Him, especially in the Eucharist, then my deafness will be broken open and my blindness will be chased away (to paraphrase St. Augustine from Confessions, Book X, Chapter 27). Focusing on this during the Advent and Christmas seasons will allow God to grant each of us new ears and eyes. With those new ears and eyes, we will be able to walk with others toward the fullness that God intends for them.

At every time of the year, but especially during Advent and Christmas, we need to ask the Lord for new eyes and new ears. We need to ask for His truth, goodness, and beauty so that we are able to live and flourish as He intends, and so that we can share these wonderful realities with others.