Word to the Wise
Sunday, March 30, 2014 - 4th Sunday of Lent - A
[1 Sam 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Eph 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 or 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38,44][Jesus] spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on [the eyes of the man born blind] 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. [John]
"There are none so blind as those who will not see!" That expression comes to my mind every time I read the story of Jesus healing the Man Born Blind. The quotation from the gospel that I have given above states the essential facts of the incident. It is important to keep these facts in front of us, just as the Man Born Blind keeps doing throughout the story. As the old hymn, AMAZING GRACE, puts it: "I was blind but now I see!"
The dramatic action is dual. The Man Born Blind and the Pharisees both start from a position of no relationship to Jesus, but the Man Born Blind comes to not only physical sight but to the sight of faith. He is able to "see" Jesus in every sense of the word. The Pharisees, who claim to "see," descend further and further into spiritual blindness, despite the physical facts in front of them! As Jesus says at the end of the gospel: "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains."
The combination of moral/spiritual blindness involved in this gospel story is not rare, unfortunately! We might use the word, "denial," to describe it, as in the expression: "He/she is living in denial." The Pharisees were confronted with the fact that a man born blind had recovered his sight as a result of Jesus' action. They use all kinds of arguments to disprove the fact, but the fact remains stubborn!
Lent is a good time to confront our own "denials." What are the stubborn facts about ourselves that we consistently deny, which impede our ability to "see" Jesus or our own faults completely? When confronted by others with these facts, do we deny them by impugning the honesty or credibility of the others? Do we, as the Pharisees try to do, attempt to "seize the higher ground" by claiming greater moral or spiritual standing in the community? This can be hard work - a lot harder than giving up something for Lent. But the difference can be dramatic. Just ask the Man Born Blind. AMEN
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