At mass last Sunday, I thought that the second reading from the 1st Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians 13, 1-13, considered as the classic Christian treatise on love, was a fitting introduction to the month of February, the acknowledged “Love Month”, and to the Season of Lent that also starts this month.
Today, I want to follow suit and write about love. No, not about romantic love, but about the love that St. Paul talks about. It is about love that is “patient and kind”. It is love that is creative, a love that inspires the other to reach his full potential, a love that allows the other to grow, to become himself in the fullness of being that God intended him to be. But it is also a love that is “blind” as I will explain later.
I found this kind of love in the story of Michael Oher, an All American and first round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. His life is portrayed in the movie, “The Blind Side” starring Sandra Bullock whose portrayal of the lead character in the movie earned for her a Golden Globe Best Actress award and an Oscar nomination this year for best actress also.
The movie is about the remarkable true-to-life story of Oher, an African-American young man who has had a rough childhood after being badly traumatized by his separation from his mom and siblings. He grew up going from one foster family to another and became known as a “runner”, since he would always run away from every one of them until the Tuohys, an upper middle-class Caucasian Christian family found him.
The Tuohys adopted him through the initiative of Leigh Ann (Sandra Bullock), the mother in the family. Little by little the other members of the family also took to him and slowly considered him as their own. It was with Leigh Ann, however, with whom Michael developed a special kind of foster mother and foster son relationship. Soon it became apparent that even as the Tuohys transformed his life, Michael also touched their lives and led them to some insightfull self-discoveries of their own.
The “blind side” in the movie title actually refers to the side opposite the direction a football player (usually the quarterback) is facing. In an ongoing play, it’s the job of the tackle to protect the quarterback’s blind side. Leigh Ann discovered that Michael has a very high “protective instinct” and pointed it out to Michael and his coach. Eventually, Michael used this to his advantage to excel in the game of American football.
To me, however, the “blind side” also refers to the blind side of love that the Tuohys, especially Leigh Ann, demonstrated in Michael’s case. It is the form of Christian love that turns a blind eye to a man’s past, to the color of his skin or the external appearances of a person, and instead sees only his dignity, the respect he deserves, and the potentials he is capable of.
It is the same kind of love that God demonstrates when He loves each one of us! A good reminder for all of us in this month of love and as we enter the season of Lent.
