ACTING WITH GOD - 3/19/23 (Fourth Sunday of Lent)

Gospel

Jn 9:1-41

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.

His disciples asked him,

"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,

that he was born blind?"

Jesus answered,

"Neither he nor his parents sinned;

it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.

We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.

Night is coming when no one can work.

While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

When he had said this, he spat on the ground

and made clay with the saliva,

and smeared the clay on his eyes,

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.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,

"Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?"

Some said, "It is, "

but others said, "No, he just looks like him."

He said, "I am."

So they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"

He replied,

"The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes

and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.'

So I went there and washed and was able to see."

And they said to him, "Where is he?"

He said, "I don't know."

 

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.

Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.

So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.

He said to them,

"He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see."

So some of the Pharisees said,

"This man is not from God,

because he does not keep the sabbath."

But others said,

"How can a sinful man do such signs?"

And there was a division among them.

So they said to the blind man again,

"What do you have to say about him,

since he opened your eyes?"

He said, "He is a prophet."

Now the Jews did not believe

that he had been blind and gained his sight

until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.

They asked them,

"Is this your son, who you say was born blind?

How does he now see?"

His parents answered and said,

"We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.

We do not know how he sees now,

nor do we know who opened his eyes.

Ask him, he is of age;

he can speak for himself."

His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews,

for the Jews had already agreed

that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,

he would be expelled from the synagogue.

For this reason his parents said,

"He is of age; question him."

So a second time they called the man who had been blind

and said to him, "Give God the praise!

We know that this man is a sinner."

He replied,

"If he is a sinner, I do not know.

One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see."

So they said to him,

"What did he do to you?

How did he open your eyes?"

He answered them,

"I told you already and you did not listen.

Why do you want to hear it again?

Do you want to become his disciples, too?"

They ridiculed him and said,

"You are that man's disciple;

we are disciples of Moses!

We know that God spoke to Moses,

but we do not know where this one is from."

The man answered and said to them,

"This is what is so amazing,

that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.

We know that God does not listen to sinners,

but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.

It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.

If this man were not from God,

he would not be able to do anything."

They answered and said to him,

"You were born totally in sin,

and are you trying to teach us?"

Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,

he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

He answered and said,

"Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"

Jesus said to him,

"You have seen him,

the one speaking with you is he."

He said,

"I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.

Then Jesus said,

"I came into this world for judgment,

so that those who do not see might see,

and those who do see might become blind."

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this

and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?"

Jesus said to them,

"If you were blind, you would have no sin;

but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains.

Reflection:

A blessed Sunday to all of us! Jesus is the Light of the World. The blind saw it because of His power. Even we who become spiritually blind can see clearly through Jesus. Often, we don't know our sin or we don't want to admit it. When we see more of the sins and faults of others than our own, we seem to become spiritually blind.

The Pharisees were angry with Jesus. They should be the teachers of the law, but they insisted that Jesus was a sinner, and He was not from God. But, the former blind man, whom they called a sinner, defended and testified to Jesus. He said that no one who was not of God could do such a miracle that the blind could see. When he met Jesus again after the Pharisees expelled him, Jesus said that He's the Messiah, and the former blind man believed and worshiped.

This is contrary to what happened in the Gospel last Sunday in the Samaritan. Jesus also said that He is indeed the long-awaited Messiah. But, when announcing the Good News to her countrymen, she was still surprised and did not seem to be listening.  She even said to them "Can He really be the Christ?" Which one of these two is blind, the former blind man or the Samaritan woman?

Maybe we accept Jesus as God and Savior but in our lives, decisions and plans from small to big, we do not include Jesus. Perhaps, even though we know He is God, we are still the only ones who bear our problem. We do not consult Him, listen to Him in prayer and follow Him faithfully.

Maybe, we still have a lot of doubts especially when we are drowning in problems. But, all of this is an opportunity to believe more. The deeper the fall, the more strength is needed to rise again. This strength comes from God if we will desire it.

All true faith in God is accompanied by works. It does not remain in the Bible, in the Church and on the lips of the priests. It must be rooted in the heart like a seed to grow there until it bears fruit in deeds or actions and not just sweet words.

This season of Lent, let's prepare our heart and offer it again to God in the sacrament of Confession so that He can cleanse and renew it again. Let's go back to Church, go to Mass, dress modestly and appropriately for the occasion – to worship God and not to draw attention to ourselves.

We leave the Church truly blessed because we have heard the Word of God, and we are ready to do it in our own way that God wants.  Amen. +

Let's ponder on it. Amen. +

May the Loving and Almighty God bless us all, and may He protect us from temptation and evil now and forever. Amen. +

Reflections by FMMJ

Translations to English by CJT

Full readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031923.cfm