The challenge given to us this fourth Sunday of Lent is to better understand how being a disciple of Christ enables us to see others as God sees them. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul encourages us to open our hearts and eyes and “try to learn what pleases God” (5:10). We are called to stay away from the darkness and live in the light of the vision of goodness, righteousness, and truth given by Christ.
The Gospel explores what this vision brings. John’s account of the sign of the man born blind is intriguing and liberating. We begin with Jesus advising that physical difference is not a punishment by God but rather a sign of God’s power. In an allusion to the second creation story in Genesis, Jesus takes earth and with his spittle fashions it into a healing clay that, when washed off in a pool, leaves the man with restored sight. Six different dialogues now follow, exploring the consequences of being given sight.
The first consequence is that the man’s immediate friends and companions do not recognise him and he needs to assure them of his identity. Seeing as Christ sees changes us. Learning of the circumstances, the man’s friends take him to the Pharisees. This is most likely for them to certify the healing. The faith of the Pharisees stumbles because in healing the man, Jesus had made clay paste on the Sabbath. Healing is one thing, working is another matter. There follows a dialogue exploring whether or not such signs can be from God if they conflict with the recognised interpretation of the law. The man concludes this dialogue by proclaiming that Jesus is a prophet, that is, one who comes from God.
The next dialogue is between the parents of the man born blind and the Pharisees. The Pharisees seek confirmation of the man’s story. The parents affirm that he was born blind but do not affirm his story of his healing as they were not there. So there is another dialogue between the man and the Pharisees. The man, clearly frustrated by the Pharisees’ lack of belief, mischievously asks the Pharisees whether they would like to become disciples of Jesus. They proclaim that they follow Moses and do not know from where Jesus comes. The man expresses his amazement that they cannot recognise the working of God and the Pharisees expel him from the synagogue. Following Christ means that there are people and communities who no longer choose to associate with us.
The fifth dialogue takes place when Jesus, hearing of the man’s ordeal, seeks him out and goes to him. The dialogue concludes with the man proclaiming that he believes. The final dialogue is between Jesus and Pharisees, who have taken offence at Jesus proclaiming that those who were blind can see while those who see are blind. Jesus advises them that their insistence that they can see is proof of their blindness.
The failure of religious leaders to recognise God’s working is echoed in the reading of the anointing of David in the first book of Samuel. Even the great Samuel has difficulty seeing as God sees and needs to meet each of David’s brothers before God opens his heart to the possibility of David’s greatness through the eyes of God.
For us who contemplate and preach the truth, this message is both warning and healing. In staying focussed upon, and being one with Christ, we are healed and can bring healing and light to others. We are called to avoid letting our knowledge and experience of the truth prevent us from seeing the beneficial diversity in people that God sees. We rejoice in the diverse ways in which Christ reveals God to us and called to avoid being blinded to possibilities outside our life experiences. When we go to those in need, and in encountering them meet Christ, we may be better equipped to enable them to become more aware of the Christ who is already with them.
