From time to time, in one way or another, we all experience blindness. We can be blind to our own foibles. We can be blind to the ways we hurt others by our actions or our inaction. We can be blind to our projections we foist on others. We can be blind to those who need our help. We can be blind to those who want to help us. We can be blind to our contributions to the chaos around us. We can be blind to the freedom that comes from giving up our desire to control. We can be blind to the creativity within us that is yearning to break through our rigid boundaries. We can be blind to the presence of God in the present moment. We can be blind to God’s hand at work in our lives, to all the ways God reaches out to us through grace. We can be blind to the opportunities before us to share God’s love and mercy. We can be blind to the magnificence and beauty of God’s creation. We can be blind to the ways we contribute to the damage of creation. We can be blind to the interrelatedness of the entire cosmos. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There seems to be no end to the kinds of blindness that we may manifest in our lives. Fortunately, the Lord opens the eyes of the blind; sometimes God uses Annanais to do the work.

God has chosen us, you and me, just as the Lord chose Paul and just as the Lord chose Peter, to be God’s hands and feet and voice here and now, tending and feeding God’s flock throughout the world. When our eyes are closed to the needs around us, when our ears are deaf to God’s call to serve, when our hearts are hardened against compassionate action, there’s no telling how Annanais might appear in our lives to get our attention, to open our eyes, to heal our blindness. Perhaps our priest or pastor, a friend or even a stranger—as Annanais was to Paul—will be the agent to open our eyes. Perhaps a word from scripture or other spiritual reading will cause the scales to drop from our eyes. Perhaps “a little child shall lead them” (Is.11:6) as Isaiah describes in his peaceable messianic kingdom. God knows our every need and just what it takes so that we may be healed to serve, to be the “Wounded Healer” (Henri Nouwen’s term) in the situations and circumstances of our lives. Annanais, where are you?