I can see clearly now, the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sunshiny day
—Johnny Nash, 1972

* * *

I can’t believe my eyes! I can see clearly now!

The glasses I’ve worn for the past 65 years are suddenly obsolete. I haven’t started a day or left the house without them perched on my nose in ages.

STOP. You can’t see without your glasses. Go back and get them before you walk into a wall!

I stop. Think. Blink. Blink. Blink. And walk on, into a bright, sunshiny day.

For the past five years the colors and shapes of the world slowly faded. I was looking through a cloud.

And then three weeks ago, I had cataract surgery. My vision began improving immediately. But not for long. Considerable blurriness remained.

The ophthalmologist detected abrasions on my cornea and inserted a temporary “bandage contact.” Last Tuesday the bandage was removed. The colors of the world POPPED.

I see numerals on a digital clock across the room. I see sharp images on the television screen and the subtitles beneath them. I see road signs. I see through headlights. I see deer.

Thank you, Dr. Singh.

This past Tuesday I sat in the waiting room with other post-surgery patients. We chatted. We compared notes. We compared before and after. We were all thrilled to see clearly again.

I’ve been pondering this “vision thing.” I now see there’s more to it than meets the eye:

Eyesight is one thing. Insight is another.

Ophthalmologists improve eyesight for thousands of visually impaired people. But what about those who improve insight, the understanding of the world within and around us?

And that brought to mind a man who opened my eyes to an insight 50 years ago: Clarence Jordan.

Clarence was a maverick Bible scholar and the founder of Koinonia Farms in southern Georgia. From him I learned that the way of Jesus is not a way out of this world, but a certain way of being in this world, of being madly in love with the world—serving poor, hungry, sick, forgotten, forsaken, tormented, trampled, and oppressed people.

The way of Jesus, I saw clearly, isn’t Christianity. The way of Jesus is love. Love is the way, the truth, and the life.

Thank you, Clarence.

I’m guessing each of us can name someone who gave us insight, who opened our eyes to see and understand the world around and within us more clearly.

And for them, this week, let us give thanks.