The Bear in the Woods

Black bears are fairly common in the Smoky Mountains, or so they say. But you won’t see them very often. When my good friend, Todd, and I were first building our cabin on the edge of the mountains, a bear would come up and paw into a standing dead oak tree near our lane, and we have preserved the tree in his memory. Todd encountered him one night – face to face! – but after the cabin was finished he stopped coming around. Or, at least, we stopped seeing him. Bears are excellent tree climbers. One time Todd and his wife were hiking in the Smokies, heard a rustling sound, looked up and saw a momma bear and her cub way up in a white pine tree, about 70 feet in the air. Todd and I are wondering now how many times on our many mountain hikes that we might have missed seeing a bear up in the tree, simply because we weren’t looking for it. This Sunday’s Gospel reminds us that following Jesus is a matter of recovering our sight enough to see our own sinfulness. There is no place for a blind person in God’s kingdom. Being aware of our own sin is uncomfortable, even scary – like seeing a bear in the woods. But it is only by being so aware that we recognize our need for the Savior, the One who died for us on the cross. May the Lord Jesus open our eyes to see all things more clearly! - - - Fr. Jim