1 Sam 16.1.4.6-7.10-13; Eph 5,8-14; John 9,1-41; 4th Sun of Lent: Year A)
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In
order to appreciate the significance of today’s gospel reading event, it is
pertinent to refer to one of Jesus sayings in the preceding chapter where he
solemnly affirmed: I am the light of the world; he who
follows me does not walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8,12). The cure of the
person born blind serves to confirm that Jesus is indeed the light. He enables
the eyes of the body to see material things and gives the spirit the capacity
to glance into the supernatural world with the light of faith. Just as the
person born blind was able to see by washing with water from the pool of
Siloam, so also the baptized, from the water of the baptismal font,
acquires the faculty to receive the light of revelation from Christ.
As
far as the supernatural realities are concerned the human person, without the
light of faith is like the person born blind, that is to say, he is in complete
darkness. His cognitive faculty can neither grasp the reality of God and his
mysteries, the mystery surrounding man and the destiny of his life, the meaning
of suffering and death nor the meaning of history and especially salvation
history and God’s role in it. Christ is the light of the world, who came to
manifest the work of God, cure our blindness, open our eyes and lead us to the
truth. There are some conditions to be fulfilled if these were to take place.
First, we must meet with Christ. We meet him in the word of God, when we listen
to the word of God and appreciate the goodness of his works. The second
condition is that we must be disposed to dialogue, and to sincerely search for
truth. The healed person born blind exemplifies the content of such disposition
as he wanted to know more about Jesus who cured him. His enthusiasm to know
more about Jesus was rewarded with spiritual vision and supernatural perception
by means of the gift of faith. On the other hand the Pharisees listened to
Christ, observed his good works, but were unwilling to see, and were obstinate
in negating the evidence. They were lacking in the disposition to be
enlightened and search for the truth. The probable causes for the lack of
requisite disposition on the part of the Pharisees were three. The first was
that they were working on the prejudice that Jesus could not have been the messiah, and
wondered how he could be superior to Moses, Abraham and the prophets. His
messiahship did not correspond to the idea of the Messiah they had in mind. The
second reason was their vested interest in the powerful position they wielded.
They were afraid that if they welcomed Christ as the Messiah and hearkened to
him they would lose not only esteem but also their much coveted position of
power, privilege and influence. Jesus presence was a threat to them and made
them very uncomfortable. The third cause or reason was their presumption that
they were not blind at all, (that they were on top of the situation)
and that they had the correct vision and perception of things, while
unfortunately they were blind people leading
other blind people. The true blind person is the one, who
deceives himself by thinking that he/she sees clearly and knows it all
and who never allows himself/herself nor his/her ideas to be critically
examined.
The
Christian has the grace and privilege of being enlightened by God through
faith. Baptism is the sacrament of this illumination, and as we all know from the
Catholic doctrine faith is necessary for the worthy and fruitful reception of
Baptism. As this initial thrust of faith from God at Baptism is deepened and
made to take root in the soul, the Christian is made fit (capable) to receive
the supernatural truths. Faith, as it were, is a journey; it entails a
continuous search and deepening. Though it is fundamentally a gift from God,
the Christian has to appropriate this gift. There is always the need to grow,
progress and mature in faith. Progress in faith does not mean exclusion from
difficulties, trials, troubles and moments of obscurity. As we grow in faith,
so increases the supernatural illumination from God.
One
would say that the two appeals from today’s gospel reading is applicable
to us, Christians. First, the appeal to assiduously listen to the word of God,
and secondly the cultivation of the disposition of deepening our faith through
dialogue and search for the truth. We should go further. Our being cured from
our spiritual blindness and our seeing should
lead us to acting. Again, if God through Christ, the true light, out of
darkness makes us to be light, it boils down to mean that our being (the mere
fact of existing) and actions are to reflect and radiate this light. In the
words of St. Paul, in the second reading of today, we are to be like children of the light. In
practical terms, it means living as good Christians, in justice, goodness and
love. It also entails seeking to do God’s will in the circumstances of our
lives. As light cannot stand darkness, the Christian illumined by the light of
Christ should not shy away from condemning what is evil in the society. The
illumined Christian has the obligation to translate into action and make alive
the salvation that he was endowed with at his baptism; the various seeds of
faith, hope and love planted in his soul at Baptism should be made to germinate
and bear fruit, otherwise there would be the risk of loosing these gifts. The
best way to progress and mature in faith is to live it out and to communicate
it to others. It is also to be borne in mind that this gift of faith attracts
opposition from the world, as is verifiable in the case of the cured blind
person from birth, who was not defended even by his parents, expelled by the
community, isolated and marginalized. The healed blind man did not find it easy
with the Jewish authorities then who cajoled him. But he bore witness in favour
of Christ and it was only by his steadfastness that his initial vague and
general intuition of faith got so matured and progressed that he was able
to perceive that Jesus was the saviour of the world. In today’s Eucharist celebration,
may we pray that the graces of faith and spiritual illumination we received
during our first encounter with Christ at our Baptism grow to maturity in us,
bear fruits of charity, hope and endurance in the midst of difficulties and
problems as we struggle to witness in favour of Christ and to follow the will
of God in the circumstances of our lives. +John I. Okoye
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NB: Pictures(2) added by the blogger...Chukwubike
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