A Wise Person Knows He Doesn’t See Everything

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This gospel and the ones we have been hearing in Lent are gospels that were used centuries ago to prepare people for baptism.  Baptism in the early Church was called Enlightenment.  The spreading of mud on the blind man’s eyes was his anointing.  When anointed by Christ one can really see.  His eyes must have been very sensitive, as they are for all blind people.  The Lord often irritates us before he illumines us, as he did to this man.  Let Jesus wash you so that you may really see.

He is beaten up pretty badly by the Pharisees and they even call his parents who are very guarded.  But there is one thing that he is certain about that gives him this courage to say the truth.  Before he was blind and now, he can see.  Covid gives us a chance to speak about the one thing that matters, the one thing that we are certain about: one day we will die and if we believe in Christ, we will rise with him.

Christ rejects the complacent person that trust in their own light, as opposed to the humble who is typified by this blind man.  The smugness of their religious leaders makes them hopeless to see the wonder of this miracle.  What was the sin of the Pharisees?  They only saw the Law.  He did this curing on the Sabbath, so he was not a man from God.  They were totally blind.

John’s gospel is full of irony.  The Pharisees tell the blind man: give glory to God, which is another way of saying: tell the truth.  He shows in irrefutable logic: only God can cure a person who is blind from birth.  How could it be otherwise?  No one has ever done this before.  The nature of truth grows; it becomes clearer when it is questioned.  He is totally convinced about one thing: he was blind and now he can see.  When we receive the light to show us who we are, it comes with many other graces.

If the Pharisees humbly acknowledged their blindness, they would have been enlightened.  If they were blind or didn’t know much about the Scriptures or the ways of God, their sin would be less serious.  But since they said, we know, their sin is great.  Let us not fall into the same trap.

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