Healing of the Blind Man by Jesus Christ. Painting by Carl Bloch. Public domain.
This weekend we hear the story of “The Man Born Blind.” The early Church often called the journey to faith an “enlightenment.” The image is the casting off of the darkness of disbelief and the putting on the light of faith.
The coming to faith is indeed a journey and people make that journey at differing times and in different ways in their life’s journey. Often the journey involves some twists and turns; taking one step backward and two steps forward.
This Gospel is a story about enlightenment, a story about the journey of faith, a story about the gradual coming to know Jesus.
Jesus appears at the beginning of the story and is present at the end of the story. Nowhere else does Jesus appear in the story.
The blind man does not approach Jesus; Jesus approaches him and after smearing mud on his eyes, he tells him to go and wash. The man washes and then sees.
When asked who opened his eyes, the man says: “The man called Jesus.”
When asked by the Pharisees who opened his eyes, the man says: “He is a prophet.”
In a further interrogation by the Pharisees, the man says: “If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything. This man is devout and God listens to him.”
The man is expelled from the synagogue and Jesus finds him in the temple. Jesus asks him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man asks, “Who is he?” Jesus says, “The one speaking with you is he.” The man says, “I do believe.”
Often the door to faith is opened through human suffering. One comes up against a stonewall — it is sometimes in such a condition that one comes to faith.
Fr. Steve Adrian
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