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 Advent, 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, the first things that comes to the minds of the disciples is what sin cause this affliction in this poor man. Jesus rebukes the disciples’ desire to see the cause of his blinds as some kind of human failing or sin. Jesus sees his affliction as a way to glory God and to bring God’s healing power into his life. Christ anoints the blind man with a very earthy mixture of clay and his 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. It was a critical source of water for 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 also named Siloam mission. That soup kitchen was originally started by a released inmate from prison who had found Christ and who wanted to bring Christ to the street people of that city.
Perhaps the main message of this miracle of healing n the Gospel has to do with the way we respond to God’s grace that is present to us in our lives. Christ comes to save us and to offer us salvation, but we have the free will as to how we respond. Christ offers us healing in our lives 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 that occurs 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 as 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 us, 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 and pain and infirmities that are weighing him down, he submits in obedience to the healing power of God.
I remember when I had cataract surgery several years ago. When I returned home, I was amazed at how bright everything was. I did not realize that I had cataracts that were blocking the light. Sometime we are not even aware of the ways that there are obstacles and impediments blocking the light of Christ from entering our lives. In our second reading today from the letter to the Ephesians, St Paul states that we as disciples of Christ were once in darkness, but now we are in the light of Christ. We are to live in that light of Christ, 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, 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 any illness, pains, and sufferings. It offers God’s grace for us to be open to physical and spiritual healing, bringing comfort to our body and our spirit. Like the other sacraments of the Church, this sacrament also recognize the ways God’s kingdom is present to us in the current day and 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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