In our Gospel today, Jesus states: “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”(John 9: 4-5)
On this 4th Sunday of Lent, our Gospel of the healing of the blind man gives us a lot to think about regarding the merciful love of God and the obstacles to the healing power of Christ that exist in our lives.
As Jesus and his disciples pass by the blind man, the first thing that comes to the minds of the disciples is speculation as to what sin caused his affliction. Jesus rebukes the disciples’ desire to see the cause of his blindness as some kind of human failing or sin. Jesus sees this man’s affliction as a way to glorify God and to bring God’s healing power into his life. Jesus anoints the blind man with a very earthy mixture of clay and saliva, inviting the man to wash in the waters of the pool of Siloam, which restores the blind man’s vision. This pool was an ancient water source in Israel built seven centuries before Christ by King Hezekiah. This pool was a critical source of water for the people of Jerusalem for centuries. Pilgrims would take a ritual bath in these waters before ascending to the Temple Mount as a ritual of purification. It is interesting that the soup kitchen where I served as a lay missionary for two years in the inner city of Winnipeg, Canada was named Siloam mission after this pool of healing waters. That soup kitchen was originally started by a released inmate from prison who had found Christ while incarcerated and who wanted to bring Christ to the street people of that city as a work of mercy.
Perhaps the main message of this miracle of healing in today’s Gospel relates to the way we respond to God’s grace in our lives. Jesus comes to save us and to offer us salvation, but we have free will as to how we respond. Jesus offers us healing in different ways. Not just physical healing, but also spiritual and emotional healing. Healing to move on from the hurts and pains of our past. Healing to be able to forgive others, to forgive ourselves, to forgive God.
Rather than seeing the love of God and the miracle of healing in this interaction, rather than feeling joy at the transformation in the life of the blind man, the Pharisees focus on the ways they see Jesus breaking the laws of the sabbath. The Jewish people want to deny this miracle of healing they see right before their very eyes, even questioning if this man had even been blind at all, seeing this to be a scam or a ruse. The Pharisees reject the possibility of Jesus doing the will of the Father. Jesus’ presence and the miracles he enacts in our lives can be right before our very eyes, but we have to be open to seeing the reality of God that is before us.
The blind man is the one who cooperates with God’s grace in this story. Even with all the hurt, pain, and infirmities that are weighing him down, he submits in obedience to the healing power of God and participates in God’s grace.
I remember when I had cataract surgery several years ago. When I returned home, I was amazed at how bright everything looked. I did not realize that I had cataracts that were blocking the light. Sometime we are not even aware of the obstacles and impediments blocking the light of Christ from entering our lives. In our second reading from the letter to the Ephesians, St Paul states that we as disciples of Christ were once in darkness, but now we are in Christ’s light. We are to live in that light and to allow that light to bring goodness, righteousness, and truth into our lives.
We have been praying the stations of the cross each Friday here at our parish. This weekend, being the second Friday of the month, I offered the sacrament of the anointing of the sick to our parish at the Friday evening mass after the stations, a tradition we have here at Holy Savior. I also will offer the anointing of the sick after the other Masses at our parishes this weekend. The sacrament of the anointing of the sick unites our sufferings with the suffering Christ endured in his passion and on his way to the cross. This sacrament brings strength, peace, and courage into our lives as we endure our illnesses, pains, and sufferings. This sacrament offers God’s grace for us to be open to physical and spiritual healing, bringing comfort to our body, mind, and spirit. Like the other sacraments of the Church, this sacrament also recognizes the ways God’s kingdom is present to us in the current day as it prepares us for the eternal life to come.
On this 4th Sunday of Lent, may we feel the light of Christ that is present to us. May we feel his healing presence in our lives.
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