Blindness, darkness, sinners, blame… this story from the ninth chapter of John’s Gospel about the man born blind is fitting for today’s world as well as the time of Jesus. Walking into this scene with honesty and truth, Jesus proclaims through action and word that light will triumph; with a simple mud solution and faith, the young man born blind is healed. But rather than rejoicing in someone’s good fortune, the authorities seek to blame and fault-find.
I believe that Jesus would choose to heal all blindness, blindness of soul as well as eyes, the blindness and blame that corrupts one’s spirit. The young man was healed of physical blindness as well as spiritual blindness, recognizing the goodness of Jesus as a prophet. The parents answered the questions of the authorities with another form of blindness, fear. And the young man speaks for himself in truth and courage. The contrasts are striking… The ability to listen and hear also enters into this story but sometimes we choose not to listen. If we follow the path of discipleship, listening, seeing, hearing and speaking truth are all part of the call. Belief is strengthened when we set aside fear to follow the path of truth
Perhaps as we ponder this reading, we might consider our own areas of blindness and the role that fear might play in perpetuating our inability to see, understand and proclaim truth and liberation with our lives. Can we display the courage of the young man who spoke for himself, who recognized Jesus as a prophet? As in the reading from 1 Samuel, we are invited to look beyond appearances and find truth in front of us in our world, to move beyond our blind spots, into the endless mystery of God’s love and healing. Our shadow work invites us to face into the darkness and find the pockets of light and goodness in ourselves, our neighbour and our world.
- Sr. Helen Russell , csj