Encountering Jesus, Part 2
To All,
In our Gospel reading for Sunday (John 9:1-41), Jesus and His disciples come upon a man blind from birth. What do the disciples see when they look at this man? They see a person punished by God. And so they ask Jesus whose sin was responsible for that man being blind from birth. Jesus tells them that they are not seeing correctly. He says, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” In other words, what Jesus was going to do with this man would help His disciples and others to see.
And so Jesus makes clay with His saliva, smears it on the man’s eyes, and tells him to wash in the Pool of Siloam. This the man does, and he is able to see! What happens next tells us about the blindness of the Pharisees and others and what the man himself can see beyond physical sight.
The man winds up being brought to the Pharisees, who ask him how he was able to see.
They have decided that Jesus must not be from God because He worked this miracle on the sabbath. But the man can see at least that Jesus is a prophet.
The Pharisees did not like the man’s answer, so they get his parents. They ask the parents if he really was born blind. And they ask them how he was now able to see. They testify that he was indeed born blind, but they didn’t know how he was able to see. They were afraid to assert any belief in their son’s account because they were afraid to be kicked out of the synagogue.
We might begin to feel sorry for this guy because the Pharisees call him again, and ask him again what happened. After the Pharisees say that they do not know where Jesus is from, the man points out to them that his eyes being opened was a sign that Jesus was from God. Then we see how blind the Pharisees really were. They say, “You were born totally in sin and you are trying to teach us?” Then they throw the man out.
After this, Jesus seeks the man out, and asks him if he believes in the Son of Man, and the man answers, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” And Jesus reveals that it is Himself. Jesus now gives him complete spiritual sight.
What do we see when we look at ourselves? Do we see ourselves as beloved of God? What do we see when we look at others? Do we see some people as “born in sin,” and therefore do not matter? Do we see others whose value rests only in what they can do for us? Are we humble enough to be willing to have our eyes opened to see the truth of God’s love for us and for all? Or are we content to take part in the “fruitless works of darkness,” in the words of our second reading (Ephesians 5:8-14)?
When we give into hate and fear of the “other,” justifying violence and injustice against them, we are taking part in the works of darkness. When we decide that others are outside of the love of God, we are taking part in the works of darkness.
Oh Lord, give us the grace to acknowledge our blindness. Give us the grace to encounter You and let You open our minds and our hearts and our souls so that we can really see. Please give us the grace to live as children of light, working for justice and making peace.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP
