No Appearance, No Experience
Scripture
1 Samuel 16:1,
1 Samuel 16:6-7,
1 Samuel 16:10-13,
Ephesians 5:8-14,
John 9:1-41.
Reflection
Dear sisters and brothers,
Today’s gospel centres on the analogy and distinction between physical and spiritual blindness.
The early Christians saw physical blindness as a metaphor for spiritual blindness which prevents people from recognizing and coming to Jesus Christ.
Therefore, this story testifies to the power of Jesus Christ to heal not just the blindness of the eye but, above all, the blindness of the heart as Saint Paul says:
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)
With this introduction, let us look at the gospel reading (John 9:1-41) in detail.
The story of the healing of the blind man shows that the one thing you need to qualify to bear witness to Jesus is not doing a certain kind of social (the neighbours), religious (the Pharisees), political ( the Jews) activities but having a certain kind of God experience. This God experience has a lot more to do with knowing and following the Person, the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The Neighbours (social)
His Neighbours asked him: where is he?
He said, “He did not know”.
The question is not who opened his eyes…but how they were opened.
He narrated the story. He said that the man was called Jesus.
At this time, the blind man, who is able to see now, did not know who Jesus is.
2. The Pharisees (religious)
The Pharisees do not care about his eyesight. They are bothered about the Sabbath. There was a dispute among the Pharisees that the one who cured him of blindness, is from God or not.
Again, the blind man, who can see now, said Jesus is a prophet.
3. The Jews (political)
The parents of the blind man did not know who cured their blind son, who can see now.
Did they really not know who cured their son? The reading of the day informs us that they knew about Christ but they were afraid. The point here to be noted for our reflection is, we know Christ but we show others that we do not know him due to various reasons. We speak one thing and our actions do another thing. We pass the bugs. But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because man sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
The blind man was called for the second time. The blind man said that he did not know whether Jesus was a sinner or not, but he knew that he can see now. In other words, he says that he was in the darkness and now he can see the light. As Saint Paul writes: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). You did not listen to the Word of God. If you would have listened you would become his disciple.
The blind man who can see now spoke the truth and he was thrown out. Jesus finds the thrown-out man and asked him a question: do you believe in the Son of Man?
The blind man who is able to see now asked him who he is. The soul searching is happening and Jesus revealed himself to him. The deeper question of the blind man is: who is he? His soul searched for him all the time, from the time he was cured. Now, Jesus Christ, who is from God, found him in a situation, where everyone left him, where his own parents disowned him, where he was lonely, where he was thrown out. So, Jesus Christ embraced him with his love. In turn, the blind man who can now see believed in him as we read in the second reading:
“You were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light,
for light produces every kind of goodness
and righteousness and truth.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8-10).
It is the story of every believer in Jesus Christ.
We enter the dark room with our eyes wide open but we may not find anything as the room is filled with darkness, and we gradually find the things that are present in the dark room as we spend more time. Similarly, our faith or belief in Jesus Christ gradually grows to make us disciples of Jesus Christ as was case of the blind man who could now see. Jesus Christ found them when they were lonely, when they are marginalised, when there is no one to care, when there is no one to love, when they are hungry, when they are in sin. Jesus Christ looked at them with compassion and mercy, as he looked at the blind man at the beginning of the gospel:
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” (John 9:3)
Let us today admit our spiritual blindness and pray with St Augustine of Hippo in the spirit of Lent and today’s gospel: “Lord that we may see.” The Lord will give us light and spiritual insight.
May the Heart of Jesus, live in the hearts of all. Amen…
