Mtr Mary Trainor

I can see clearly now the rain is gone...

Dear friend,

When Johnny Nash’s version of I Can See Clearly Now rose to Number 1 in the pop charts, I was living in a house with three others, all of us working at a nearby state hospital. For the most part we were in our late 20s, out of college (if we went) and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our lives.

That was 1972. The song came to mind because Nash died this week at the age of 80. And because I read today’s Gospel which, in its own way, is about seeing clearly.

In Luke’s Gospel passage for this day, Jesus opens by saying, “No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar or puts it under the bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” Nothing is hidden that will not be seen. Nothing secret that will not become known. The Gospel advises looking and listening with great purpose, looking and listening as truth comes into light. So that all will be seen and heard clearly.

I can see all obstacles in my way...

The lectionaries offer us a great gift. Because they cycle us through scripture on a three-year tour for Sunday, or a two-year rotation for daily office, we have the chance to see a passage, often enough that perhaps we can see it with new eyes. It works that way for me. And my new eyes, my seeing more clearly, has much to do not only with the scripture, but also with me, my life, what’s going on, losses, wins, stagnation, illness, transitions, aging. I stand in a different place than where I stood three years earlier. The scripture’s the same, but I have changed.

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind...

My three roommates and I traveled different paths. What we saw ahead for ourselves then was bright and hopeful. We were going to live to be old. We would be at the top of our game (once we figured out what our game was). We would be rich and happy. Typical goals for our age and that time. It didn’t work out that way for us, though. Apparently we weren’t seeing too clearly.

Two are deceased, for some years now; one is homeless, last I heard. And then there’s me. Of the four, only one of us got rich. Three of us married, two of whom later divorced. I chose to remain single.

Nearly fifty years after first hearing Johnny Nash sing his No.1 song, I believe I am seeing things more clearly.

That process began once I returned to church. Once the early evangelical nightmares ended, I began to see things illuminated in a new light.

It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright, sunshiny day.

Mtr. Mary