Jesus Frees Us from Spiritual Blindness and Sin
Introduction: May you experience the newness of life (both
physical and spiritual) that comes from God and may it lead to an even greater
improvement in your life.
In advertisements, have you noticed the words “new” and
“improved.” Ads never say, “new but worse than before.” Nor do they say, “new
box but same old product.” When something is new, it implies it should be
better than before or improved. The same is true in our spiritual life. Lent,
as the readings for today present, is a time of Newness and Improvement. We are
asked to be renewed and to improve our own lives personally and communally.
Lent (or “Spring”) is a time when the old, dead experiences of winter darkness
and cold are given new life. But new spiritual life requires an improvement on
our part. We cannot be the same old persons we have been. It takes work. It
means we have to do spring cleaning in our lives. But the results of being
willing to change and improve will lead to newness in ourselves, in our
relationship with others, and in our relationship with God.
How’s your sight? Our readings speak about seeing not just
with human vision, but also with spiritual vision – seeing as God sees. The
First Reading describes what God sees in the person of David. The Responsorial
Psalm is the familiar Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” In his letter to the
Ephesians, Saint Paul describes the darkness that unbelievers once experienced
and how that has changed to light that gives sight because of their acceptance
of faith. In the Gospel, Jesus gives not only physical sight to a blind man,
but also new spiritual vision to him.
First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a: David is
anointed king of Israel.
Commentary: In the
sketch of the preparation for the coming of Christ which the Church lays before
us during Lent, the fourth Sunday brings us to the story of David, with whom
the promises of a messianic king originate. As founder of the messianic kingly
dynasty David is the figure of the reality which will be fulfilled by Jesus.
Here we have one of the three biblical versions of the discovery of the future
king (the others being the story of the young musician at Saul’s court and the
story of the young warrior slaying the giant Goliath. Here the lesson is that
God does not choose as human beings do, though David is obviously an attractive
young lad. He would turn out to be a leader of charism, who could twist anyone
round his little finger. God also chose Cain’s younger brother Abel, and the
youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons, Joseph. We constantly have difficulty in
accepting that our achievements contribute nothing to God and do not earn his
favour. David, the adulterer and murderer, learnt the hard way that we can rely
only on God’s merciful forgiveness.
Responsorial Psalm 23:1-3a. 3b-4. 5. 6: The LORD is my
shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The psalmist, either David or someone who thinks like David,
speaks of God as a shepherd. God cares for the divine flock and protects each
member of that flock as they walk through the valley of darkness. God provides
food – rich, choice food – for those who turn to the LORD, their Shepherd.
Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14: ‘Arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.’
Commentary: Light
is one of the archetypal symbols of hope and encouragement. Without light we
are crippled until, as the psalmist says, with the dawn man goes forth to his
work and activities. In the Old Testament God is light who lives ‘in
inaccessible light’. In the New Testament this attribute of God is transferred
to Jesus, for Jesus proclaims that he is the light of the world. In the final
book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, victorious from the conquest over
evil, God and the ‘Lamb once slain’ together constitute the light of the new
city of God, so that neither sun nor moon is required. The reading ends with a
positive little couplet, possibly an early Christian hymn adopted into the
reading, about Christ as the light who by his resurrection bursts through the
deepest darkness of all, the darkness of death. Even in the darkness of Lent,
preoccupied with the coming Passion of the Lord, we look forward to his
liberation and ours in the glory of the resurrection at Easter.
Gospel: John 9:1-41: ‘He went and washed and received his
sight.’
Commentary: The
second of the three great Johannine readings about water, light and life
featured in the baptisms of Easter gives us the splendid account of Jesus
bringing light to the blind man in the Temple. It is full of Johannine
contrasts and irony. The ‘Jews’ or the Pharisees think they have the light and
knowledge, but the more they abuse the man born blind, the clearer their own
darkness and ignorance become. The more they try to thrust him away from Jesus,
the more they push him into seeking refuge in him. Much of the colouring of the
scene comes from the controversies towards the end of the first century, when
the Pharisees were the only branch of Judaism to survive after the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Romans. The New Testament shows that there was bitter
opposition between those Jews who accepted the divine claims for Jesus, and
those who rejected them. This is especially clear in the fear of the blind
man’s parents that they would be excluded from the synagogue if they accepted
that Jesus’ grant of sight was a sign of his divine mission. The doughty and
pugnacious man born blind has no such hesitation!
Reflection: Do you recognize the light of God's truth and
power in your life? God wants to remove every obstacle that might hinder us
from recognizing the light of his truth and wisdom for our lives. Saul, the
first king of Israel, failed to recognize God's light and power to save him
from his enemies. God replaced Saul with David, the youngest of Jesse's eight
sons (1 Samuel 16). God saw something in David which Jesse and his other sons
did not recognize - a man after God's own heart who delighted in doing what was
pleasing to the Lord (1 Samuel 13:14). David was a man of courage and vision
who defeated his enemies and united his people. His strength and success came
not from himself but from God who anointed him with the power and wisdom of his
own Spirit.
What can keep us from the light of God's truth, wisdom, and
strength for our lives? Sin blinds us and causes us to stumble and fall -
unable to rise on our own or to walk in the freedom of God's love and truth.
Sin clouds the mind in moral confusion, and it grows in darkness and resists
the light of God's truth. Only God's light can uncover the darkness of sin and
free us to walk in the path of holiness and peace with God.
The light of the world: When
the disciples saw a man who had been blind from birth, they asked Jesus what
kind of sin had caused this blindness. The Jews had understood that many
infirmities were the result of human folly and sin. While sin can lead to
physical, mental, and spiritual infirmities, not all sickness is the direct
result of sin. Sickness can befall us for a variety of reasons. Jesus answered
that God had allowed this infirmity for a greater purpose which God wanted to
demonstrate as a sign of his presence and power. Jesus then made a claim which
only God could rightfully make. Jesus stated unequivocally, I am the light of
the world (John 9:5). In so many words Jesus was saying that he is the one true
source of power and light which sustains life and overcomes the darkness of
sin, confusion, and spiritual blindness. Jesus' mighty works - his miraculous
signs - confirmed the truth of his message and claim to divine authority and
equality with his Father in heaven. One of his greatest signs was the healing
of a man who had been blind from birth.
Healing of man born blind: When
Jesus approached the blind man he first awakened hope in him - the hope which
God offers those who seek his help. Jesus then did something quite remarkable
for the blind man, both to identify with this man's misery and to draw
expectant faith in him as well. Jesus touched the man's eyes with his own
spittle mixed with dirt and bid him to wash in the Pool of Siloam which was
close to the Temple. This pool of fresh flowing water was one of the landmarks
of the city of Jerusalem. It's source came from the Gihon spring located in the
valley outside the walls of Jerusalem. This pool was likely used as a
ceremonial bath of purification for people who were going up to the Temple to
worship. On the yearly feast of Tabernacles, one of the priests brought a golden
pitcher of water from this pool and poured it out over the altar in the temple
while reciting from the verse, "You will draw water from the wells of
salvation" (Isaiah 12:3). What is the significance of the healing of the
blind man at the Pool of Siloam? It is certainly more than just a miraculous
event. It is a "sign" that points to the source of the miraculous
life-giving water which Jesus offers through the gift and work of the Holy
Spirit (John 7:38). Do you want the Holy Spirit to pour out on you his renewing
power of faith, vision, and healing love?
The Pharisees were upset with Jesus' miracle on two counts.
First, he healed the blind man on the Sabbath, which they considered a serious
violation of the command to rest on the Sabbath. Second, how could a
"sinner" and a "sabbath-breaker" do such a marvelous work
of God! The man who claimed to have been healed by Jesus must not have really
been blind to begin with! Contrary to this false charge, the fact of this man's
blindness was well known to many people, including the parents who testified
under oath that he had indeed been blind since birth. The prejudice of the
religious leaders made them blind to God's intention for the Sabbath (to do
good rather than evil) and to Jesus' claim to be the One sent from the Father
in heaven to bring freedom and light to his people. The Jewish leaders tried to
intimidate both this cured man and his parents by threatening to exclude them
from membership in the synagogue - the local congregation of the worshiping
community of Jews. This man was shunned by the religious authorities because he
believed that Jesus healed him and was the Messiah.
Freedom from spiritual
blindness: John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage, remarked:
"The Jews (the Pharisees) cast him out of the Temple; the Lord of the
Temple found him." If our witness of Jesus and his redeeming work in our
lives causes friends or foes to reject us, it nonetheless draws us nearer to
the Lord Jesus himself. Paul the Apostles warns us to avoid the darkness of sin
that we might walk more clearly in the light of Christ (Ephesians 5:8-12). Do
you allow any blind-spots to blur your vision of what God is offering you and asking
of you?
The Lord Jesus is ever ready to heal us and to free us from
the darkness of sin and deception. There is no sickness, whether physical,
mental, emotional, or spiritual that the Lord Jesus does not identify with.
Isaiah prophesied that the "Suffering Servant" would be bruised for
our iniquities and by his stripes we would be healed (Isaiah 53:5). The Lord
offers us freedom from spiritual blindness due to sin and he restores us to
wholeness of body, mind, soul, and heart. Augustine of Hippo, in his commentary
on this Gospel passage, remarks: "If we reflect on the meaning of this
miracle, we will see that the blind man is the human race ...You already know,
of course, who the "One Sent" is. Unless he had been sent, none of us
would have been freed from sin."
Jesus, in your name the blind see, the lame walk, and the
dead are raised to life. Come into our lives and heal the wounds of our broken
hearts. Give us eyes of faith to see your glory and hearts of courage to bring
you glory in all we say and do.
Daily Quote from the Early
Church Fathers: The unchangeable
Light, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"I entered into my inmost self with You, Lord, as my
guide - And this I was able to do because You were my helper. I entered in and
saw with the eye of my soul, the unchangeable Light, very different from
earthly lights. It was above my mind but not the way oil is above water or
heaven above the earth. It was superior because it made me, and I inferior
because I was made by it. Those who know the truth know this light, and those
who know it know eternity - It is charity that knows it." (excerpt from
Confessions 7,10)
Seeing by the light: “Now I can see.” —John 9:15
People are born spiritually blind. “Not as man sees does God
see, because man sees the appearance” (1 Sm 16:7). We must get our sight
correct, because this is not a neutral matter. If we don’t grow in spiritual
sight, we sink deeper into darkness; we grow more blind (see Jn 9:41). Jesus
“came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and
those who do see might become blind” (Jn 9:39, RNAB).
Adam and Eve had their eyes opened when they sinned, but
became blind spiritually (see Gn 3:5ff). Are we like Adam and Eve or are we
like the blind man who was healed and came to believe in Jesus? (see Jn 9:38)
Are we like Samuel, who learned to see with God’s eyes? (1 Sm 16:12).
“We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). Elisha’s
servant grew in faith when God opened his eyes (2 Kgs 6:17). Repentance opens
our eyes (see Rv 3:18-19). May we repent of seeing with the light of this
world, which is darkness (Mt 6:23), and receive “the light” of Christ to truly
see (Jn 1:5).
With Bartimaeus, say, “Lord...I want to see” (Lk 18:41). So
many people see by the eyes of the mass media, secular culture, the entertainment industry, and social media.
Turn off the TV and your handheld electronic device. Repent and fix your eyes
on Jesus (Heb 12:2). Pray for the Lord to “enlighten your innermost vision”
(Eph 1:18). “Christ will give you light” (Eph 5:14).
Prayer: Father, help me to take all the planks of sin out
of my eyes so I may see clearly to do Your works of mercy (Mt 7:5). “I shall
dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.” —Ps 23:6. Praise You, Jesus,
“King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rv 19:16).
The personal action for
today: With which character(s) in
the Gospel account do I most identify at this point in my life? What does my
identification with the character(s) say about my spiritual life? In what areas
of my life is there darkness and lack of vision? What can I do to ask God to
enlighten me about this darkness? How can I help give new insights to those who
still seem to be in darkness without my acting with a “better-than-thou”
attitude?
Saint Louise de Marillac: Born near Meux, France, Saint Louise de Marillac
lost her mother when she was still a child, her beloved father when she was but
15. Her desire to become a nun was discouraged by her confessor, and a marriage
was arranged. One son was born of this union. But Louise soon found herself
nursing her beloved husband through a long illness that finally led to his
death.
Saint Louise de Marillac was fortunate to have a wise and
sympathetic counselor, Francis de Sales, and then his friend, the bishop of
Belley, France. Both of these men were available to her only periodically. But
from an interior illumination she understood that she was to undertake a great
work under the guidance of another person she had not yet met. This was the
holy priest Monsieur Vincent, later to be known as Saint Vincent de Paul.
At first, he was reluctant to be her confessor, busy as he
was with his “Confraternities of Charity.” Members were aristocratic ladies of
charity who were helping him nurse the poor and look after neglected children,
a real need of the day. But the ladies were busy with many of their own
concerns and duties. His work needed many more helpers, especially ones who
were peasants themselves and therefore, close to the poor and able to win their
hearts. He also needed someone who could teach them and organize them.
Only over a long period of time, as Vincent de Paul became
more acquainted with Saint Louise de Marillac, did he come to realize that she
was the answer to his prayers. She was intelligent, self-effacing, and had
physical strength and endurance that belied her continuing feeble health. The
missions he sent her on eventually led to four simple young women joining her.
Her rented home in Paris became the training center for those accepted for the
service of the sick and poor. Growth was rapid and soon there was the need for
a so-called “rule of life,” which Louise herself, under the guidance of
Vincent, drew up for the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
Monsieur Vincent had always been slow and prudent in his
dealings with Louise and the new group. He said that he had never had any idea
of starting a new community, that it was God who did everything. “Your
convent,” he said, “will be the house of the sick; your cell, a hired room;
your chapel, the parish church; your cloister, the streets of the city or the
wards of the hospital.”
Their dress was to be that of the peasant women. It was not
until years later that Vincent de Paul would finally permit four of the women
to take annual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. It was still more years
before the company would be formally approved by Rome and placed under the
direction of Vincent’s own congregation of priests.
Many of the young women were illiterate. Still it was with
reluctance that the new community undertook the care of neglected children.
Louise was busy helping wherever needed despite her poor health. She traveled
throughout France, establishing her community members in hospitals, orphanages
and other institutions. At her death on March 15, 1660, the congregation had
more than 40 houses in France. Six months later Vincent de Paul followed her in
death. Saint Louise de Marillac was canonized in 1934 and declared patroness of
social workers in 1960.
In Saint Louise de Marillac’s day, serving the needs of the
poor was usually a luxury only fine ladies could afford. Her mentor, Saint
Vincent de Paul, wisely realized that women of peasant stock could reach poor
people more effectively, and the Daughters of Charity were born under her
leadership. Today, that order—along with the Sisters of Charity—continues to
nurse the sick and aging and provide refuge for orphans. Many of its members
are social workers toiling under Louise’s patronage. The rest of us must share
her concern for the disadvantaged.
