This lengthy gospel opened with the question, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” So often whenever something is amiss, we wonder, as did the disciples, “Who is to blame for this?”
In the midst of the current coronavirus pandemic, some might also wonder, “Is the world going to hell in a hen-basket?” If so, how apt are we to blame someone for this? Like the Pharisees in today’s gospel, we thrive on blaming someone else for our misfortunes and tragedies.
In response to the disciples’ question, Jesus points out that no one is to blame for the man’s blindness. He went on to say that the man was born blind so that the works of God might be made visible through him. Blame doesn’t have any place in God’s design of things. Instead, Jesus challenges us to discern the light of God in the midst of our darkness.
Before Jesus walked into his life, the blind man was likely filled with despair over his misfortune, blaming God or his parents for his handicap. That was a common belief in biblical times. We witness him going from non-belief to belief in Jesus, while those who could see plunge into even greater darkness, missing the awesome message of this miracle that in the midst of this person’s misfortune God is there.
Claiming to know what is right and what is wrong, the Pharisees discredit Jesus, judging him a sinner for “working” on the Sabbath. At the end of this gospel, Jesus criticized them since their “holier than thou” attitude prevented them from seeing the truth. For Jesus, everything, even the greatest tragedy, can be an occasion in which God’s works can be seen if we seek resurrection rather than reproach. He hints that the Pharisees are sinful because their self-assurance blinded them from recognizing who Jesus is.
Like eyes often do with cataracts, our spiritual and moral vision can slowly and unknowingly become clouded. Ask the elderly and they will tell you that the dimming of their eyesight was so gradual that they didn’t realize what was happening to them. Likewise, the shift in our spiritual vision can be so gradual that we may fail to see the sin in our lives or appreciate the beauty of our Catholic faith in its fullness.
In the midst of this trying time when the good majority of you cannot attend Mass due to the quarantine imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, we must not forget St. Paul’s message that we are “now light in the Lord” so we should live as children of the light. We should see the world as God does with care and compassion for those who are suffering, for the light of Christ produces every kind of goodness.
To see well, good eyesight alone is not sufficient. Blindness doesn’t affect only our eyes. There are many forms of blindness beside physical blindness. In some ways these forms of figurative blindness may be even more crippling.
For example, selfishness blinds us to the needs of others. Insensitivity blinds us to the hurt we’re causing to others. Snobbery blinds us to the equal dignity of others. Pride blinds us to our own faults. Prejudice blinds us to the truth. Hurry blinds us to the beauty of God’s creation. Materialism blinds us to spiritual values. Superficiality blinds us to the person’s true worth causing us to judge by appearances.
The gospel isn’t just about a certain blind man who lived ages ago whom Jesus healed; it is really about how blind we can be. The good news is that we can be cured of our “blindness.” Rather than play the blame game when things go wrong, we should focus instead on how we can find Christ continually in every moment of our lives and likewise help others to do the same. We must never lose sight that God is at work through us, even in places and at times when we think he could not be.
It is not only with our eyes that we see. We also see with the mind, the heart and the imagination. A narrow mind, a small heart, and/or an impoverished imagination like that of the Pharisees can lead us to loss of spiritual vision, darken our lives, and shrink our world. As I said moments ago, we often judge others by appearances but God told Samuel, not as man sees does God see for the Lord looks into the heart.
It has been said that the greatest tragedy is not to be born blind, but to have eyes and yet fail to see. Or worst yet, to have eyes and refuse to see. That was the situation for the Pharisees, which frustrated Jesus no end, prompting him to point out that unlike them, once the blind man could see with his heart, he could then see Jesus as Lord and worship him while they could not.
In a sense we are all born blind. As we go through life our eyes gradually open to the light of Christ. He touches our eyes so that we can see the world as he sees.
In the midst of this health crisis when we are being urged to be more caring, considerate and compassionate, we need to be willing to see things differently. Lets not panic or become irrational. Lets not give up on our faith in Christ and his care for us either. The most important vision one can have is that of faith. The smallest child with eyes of faith sees more than the smartest scientist who has none. In the days ahead, A good prayer for the remaining days of Lent would be to ask God to help us see Christ more clearly, love Christ more dearly, and follow more Christ more nearly.