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
Read More