REFLECTION

Gospel

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.

Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" —which means Sent—. So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbours and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is, " but others said, "No, he just looks like him." He said, "I am." So they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" He replied, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went there and washed and was able to see." And they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know."

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them,

"He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see." So some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath. "But others said,"How can a sinful man do such signs?" And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, "What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?" His parents answered and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; question him."

So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner." He replied, "If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see." So they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" They ridiculed him and said, "You are that man's disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from." The man answered and said to them, "This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything." They answered and said to him, "You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered and said, "Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he." He said, "I do believe, Lord," and he worshipped him. Then Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgement, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind."

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains                                                       John 9: 1-41

Reflection

As we enter this Fourth Sunday of Lent, we remind ourselves of Jesus’ use of the Holy Word as He was being tempted by the devil throughout those 40 long days in the desert. It doesn’t matter what form of sin or down right evil we may be facing, as Jesus so clearly demonstrated, the answer for our response and our protection can always be found in the Bible.

Today’s readings provide us with incredible insight into the results we can expect when we simply trust in the power of God’s Word, as Jesus did in the desert. We begin with Samuel. In this part of Samuel’s story, God once again spoke directly to him and directed him to go to Jesse to anoint a new king. This task was certainly not a pleasant assignment for Samuel. Not only was he sad to see Saul removed from the throne, but he even feared for his life should King Saul find out what he was doing. To make matters worse, when Samuel arrived at Jesse’ home, the son he expected to anoint was definitely not the youngest son - David. Surely the last one he would have chosen. Isn’t that really how life sometimes unfolds for us. We hear God’s calling and we are filled with trepidation. At times, it just doesn’t seem to make any sense. It may even require us to work with people we may not trust, or even like. We often forget that we are not alone, that God provides us with everything we might need to accomplish the task He has for us. He looks at the heart – especially our heart. We simply need to trust. 

In the midst of our doubting God’s directives for our lives, we can find hope. We are reminded that with God, there is nothing more we could ever want. He provides us with the rest and comfort we need to refresh our soul.  He guides us along the path He has laid out for us from the beginning of time. We have nothing to fear as He provides all the courage we could ever need. His goodness and kindness have always seen us through our most difficult challenges, and we can trust securely in our Lord as we look forward to dwelling with Him throughout all of eternity.

So what does this trusting look like as we push through our daily challenges?  How do we deal with difficult people? Our second reading in Ephesians provides the simple, yet profound answer. “Live as children of light, for light produces goodness and righteousness and truth.”  We learn what is pleasing to the Lord through meditating on His Holy Word and then following that path.  Christ Himself will give us His light.  That is simply what He does – He “is the light of the world” and following Him is the way to have & exude “the light of life”.

The concept of God as the centre of light and truth is powerfully brought home in today’s Gospel story about Jesus healing the blind man. Jesus’ disciples were trying to understand why the man was born blind in the first place. Kinda sounds like us, doesn’t it. Why do people suffer and why do bad things happen?  Jesus reminded them, and us, that He is “the light of the world”.  He demonstrated that He did in fact have the power to heal.  So where does that leave us?  Perhaps the blind man’s simple response is the key – “One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” Perhaps that statement is far more spiritual than physical. The Pharisees certainly did not understand what had just happened. They could not see the light. Yet truth and light were right there in front of them. Jesus freely gives to those that will receive His truth.  That same truth and light that is available to each of us, we simply must seek Him and His Holy Word.

Dear Heavenly Father, open our eyes this day to see the world as You see it. Help us to respond as You would respond to those You have placed in our lives. Allow your Holy, Unquenchable Light to flow through each of us every moment, especially when life doesn’t seem fair or right.  In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen

Julie Leonard

Religious Education Leader/Wellbeing Leader