Last Sunday we heard about Jesus as giver of life and today we hear Jesus as light of life. One of the teachers once shared a story about a blind girl in his school. After the gym class one day, the girl was in the locker room getting for the next class. All of a sudden all the lights went out in the locker room and all the girls started screaming. The. Kind girl asked the girl standing next to her. What happened? The friend told her that lights went out and they couldn't see. The blind girl calmly turned to her friend and said, don't worry, take my hand, I will lead you out.
The blind girl's classmate learned a valuable lesson on that day- she may be blind but she isn't disabled, she just sees in other ways or different ways.
The story of the blind man in today's gospel teaches us that blind man was poor and isolated but he saw much more than anyone else. In those days, society had a lack of knowledge about disabilities. The stereotype people alienated and outcasted people with disabilities. They were not even allowed in the temple to worship, because they were seen unclean. Who is really blind here, it's the society. The society was blind. The society lacked insights to accept everyone as they are and see love of God in all.
When the story unfolds, disciples asks,
Who sinned disciples asked? The blind man and parents? This is the question of the society put through the mouth of disciples by John.
If we see a homeless man in the street and turns our face away from him/her. If we see an immigrant and fear him taking our jobs, if we see a man with beard sitting next to us as terrorist, if we bully someone for having different sexual orientation, we are sick and we are blind like the society of that time.
In reality, the blind man was not disabled by his blindness but he was disabled by the ignorance and prejudices of the society. The society told him you are blind and therefore you can't worship God in the temple.
I do help in a soup Kitchen with our students. One day I was talking to a homeless man. He said, thanks for treating me as a human being. He said when I am in the street, many people avoid me alienate me, and turn my face from me thinking all homeless people are bad. I said I do this because of what Jesus taught me, he gave me light and I wish everyone has light from Jesus.
By healing the blind, Jesus is trying to give insight to the society. And he says to them, God's works is in everyone. God's love is in everyone, all are children of God.
As story develops, Jesus gives him his sight back. The light that comes to him is the light of Christ. He was enlightened. He first recognized Jesus as a man, then a prophet and then son of God and finally he calls Jesus as Lord and worships him. The healed man attains faith, and this is the highest grace that he receives from Jesus: not only to see, but to know Him, to see him as the light of the world”, yes, we need this enlightenment. We need to pray for this. We need light of Christ.
“Many times a good act, a work of charity, provokes gossip and questions from people who do not want to know the truth. They spread negativity and hatred … The cured blind man is first interrogated by the astonished crowd – and then by the doctors of the law. We as Catholics, Christians should not be negative and speed hatred. Our God is love and our life is of light.
The transformation of the blind man invites us to remind us our faith journey. It reminds us to ask the question, Whether we really know who Jesus is. Who do I say, Jesus is- what does this mean in our daily living. What's in our heart? Do we see with eyes of God? Are we blinded by prejudices and stereotypes? Do we alienate and isolate people?
St. Augustine interprets that the blind man represents the human race. Sin is the spiritual blindness. When Jesus heals the blind man and allows him to see the light, he literally sees, which can be taken as a sign that he sees the errors/ shortcomings of his ways and wants to correct them by following the ways of God.
St. Paul tells us we are called to live as the children of Light. For light produces every kind of goodness. We have to bring light of Christ to where there is darkness.
Blind man opens up to the light of God and His grace. Sometimes, unfortunately, we are like the doctors of law, we judge others, even the Lord. Today, as we listen to the Gospel, we are invited to open ourselves to Christ's light, so that our lives might bear fruit and eliminate our behaviour that is not Christian; we are all Christians, but we all at times behave in ways which are not Christian, which are sins. We must repent of this, and eliminate these forms of behaviour … to behave like 'children of light', with humility, patience and mercy. … Those doctors of the law had neither humility, nor patience, nor mercy. … We must not be afraid to be children of light. Let us open ourselves to the light of the Lord, He Who always awaits us, to let us see better, to offer us more light, so we can be reborn to new light.
I would like to conclude with an ancient blessing from India:
asato mā sadgamaya
tamasomā jyotir gamaya
mrityormāamritam gamaya
Oṁ śhānti śhānti śhāntiḥ
From ignorance, lead me to truth;
From darkness, lead me to light;
From death, lead me to immortality
Om peace, peace, peace
Fr. John Pozhathuparambil
