Ancient Greek mythology created the story of Orion, the punished blind giant, guided by the dwarf Cedalion who, mounted on Orion’s shoulders, leads him to the dawn, convinced that the radiant sun will make him regain his vision.
With this in mind, the ingenious Englishman Isaac Newton, discoverer of the laws of gravity, inertia and speed, coined the phrase: “If we have vision, it is because we are on the shoulders of giants,” wanting to emphasize with it simply that we are receivers of wisdom bequeathed to us by so many men and women who have come before us.
In the perennial search for God, “giant” humanity has gone blind and has had to be guided toward the light by apparent “dwarfs” (saints-mystics), trying to regain sight, and thus find the way and the meaning of our existence in this world.
The great achievements of humanity in all latitudes of the planet and throughout history make us believe that we are giants, but the stumbles, the constant and painful falls, make us realize that we walk blindly and that we need to humbly ask for the guidance of the “dwarfs” to find the light — that is, to walk toward God, who is the only one who illuminates our minds and hearts by defeating our blindness.
We owe our personal wisdom to our parents, family and friends; in our social development, we are debtors of so many leaders who have presented us with new forms of coexistence, dignity, respect and justice. Religiously, thanks to so many saints, we continue to expand our vision of what Jesus Christ has wanted to show us to be fully human-divine.
The eternal Word of God, the giant of our faith, became “dwarf” by assuming our human nature. Christ, being “in the form of God, did not regard equality with God … Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave … becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do” (Luke 17:10b).
Our “giant” Jesus, who became a servant, carries us all, like a good shepherd, on his shoulders so that we have vision; we can discover the way to the light and save ourselves from falling into the ravines of hopelessness, the lack of direction or the fatigue of continuing to look in the dark.
Mary proclaimed herself as the “handmaid of the Lord,” obediently fulfilling her excellent mission that transformed our earthly history forever. That little “giant” gave us the vision of the Kingdom of God in this world, with such beauty despite our blind stumbles, and invites us to exclaim: “All generations will call me blessed.”
Let’s get on the shoulders of Jesus to see that giving our life to others is, like Mary, to bring light to the world. Let’s be joyous “dwarfs” on the shoulders of the Giant who loves us.
Northwest Catholic magazine — April/May 2024