A Homily on Matthew 17:10 – 13 : Spiritual Blindness (13-12-25)

A warm reflection on Matthew 17:10 -13, calling us to overcome spiritual blindness and recognise God’s presence in daily life.(13-12-25)

Praise be to Jesus Christ

There was once a mother in a small village who worked hard so her son could study. One evening the boy ran to her with a picture he had drawn in school. His eyes shone with joy. But the mother, tired from her long day, placed it aside and said, I will see it later. The boy’s smile slowly faded. Many years later she found that same picture hidden inside a book. When she saw it, tears rolled down her face. She whispered, My son offered me his heart that day, but I did not recognise it. My eyes were open, but my heart was blind.

Now we turn to the Gospel. The disciples ask Jesus about Elijah. Jesus tells them that Elijah has already come, but people did not recognise him. They saw a man preaching in the desert. They heard his call for repentance. They watched his simple life. But they could not see God’s voice speaking through him. Their blindness was not outside. It was inside.

This blindness is something very real in our spiritual life. It does not shout. It quietly enters the heart. It begins when we start to live on the surface. We see things, but we no longer see deeply. We hear God’s word, but it does not enter our heart. We continue our duties, but we forget the One for whom we are doing them.

The first reading from Isaiah shows the same struggle. God tells Israel, You use My name, but your heart is far from Me. They were praying. They were offering sacrifices. They were saying holy words. But their heart had grown hard. When the heart becomes hard, even God’s gentle voice sounds distant. This is why they failed to recognise His love and His warnings.

And this is where the message becomes very close to us. Spiritual blindness enters our homes in small ways. A husband’s small expression of care goes unnoticed. A wife’s silent sacrifice is taken for granted. A child brings a small joy, but the parent is too tired or too busy to see it. Slowly love becomes invisible, not because it is missing, but because we do not recognise it.

It can enter religious life too. A sister suffers quietly, but the community is too occupied with work to see her tears. Community prayer becomes a routine. The presence of Jesus in the chapel is no longer felt. We see the crucifix every day, but somehow our heart does not move.

This is the blindness Jesus speaks about. The people failed to recognise John the Baptist. Later they failed to recognise Jesus Himself. When the heart becomes blind, even God standing in front of us is not noticed.

Advent is the gentle hand of God touching our shoulder and saying, My child, open your eyes again. Look a little deeper. Listen with your heart. Recognise Me in the small things. God rarely comes loudly. He comes through a line from Scripture that touches us, a person who needs our time, a simple duty that calls us to patience, a moment of silence that invites prayer. These are the small pictures God places into our hands. If our heart is awake, we will recognise Him. Saint John of the Cross says that God passes through the soul like a soft breeze. Only a heart that is open will notice it.

So let us ask for this grace today. Not only eyes that see, but a heart that recognises; a heart that can feel God’s footsteps in our daily life, a heart that can recognise His love in the people who live with us.

Lord Jesus Christ I want to see. Amen.