JESUS, LIGHT OF THE WORLD

IV SUNDAY OF LENT - Jn 9:1-41

After the encounter with the Samaritan woman, we are presented with the encounter and the healing of the man who was born blind.

Jesus had a special consideration for people who were seen as outsiders, sinners and outcast. The Samaritan woman was not only a sinner living in an irregular marriage situation, but also a foreigner and a pagan. The blind man was seen as cursed, suffering punishment for his own sin or the sin of his parents.

Who to blame for sickness?

As with the Samaritan woman, Jesus took the initiative. Being with his disciples, he saw him and went to him. With the prevalent understanding of sickness in their minds, the disciples asked Jesus about the cause of that blindness: Who is at fault? Who or what should be blamed?

Nowadays, we find similar questions being asked, whenever someone gets sick. Is sickness the result of sin? Is it a curse to be handicapped? Or is it a sign of evil spirits possession? Or maybe is it witchcraft? Indeed many people consider any kind of sickness to be caused by the presence of the devil or by the action of a witch who is empowered with evil powers.

Sickness reveals our own mortality and is proof of the weakness of our bodies, which are affected by the most varied things that surround us. And many times sickness is the result of our own actions or the fruit of our carelessness about our bodies, but instead of taking responsibility for ourselves, we blame others, keeping at the same time a sense of self-righteousness.

Jesus made it clear that the blindness of that man had nothing to do with sin or with evils spirits; instead, "this came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him" (Jn 9:3). And Jesus used the occasion to present himself as "the Light of the world" (Jn 9:5).

We are like blind people in search of light

The man who was born blind stands for all of us who are blind and live in darkness. We are lost and searching for a way out, not well sure if there will be light at the end of the tunnel. The prophet Isaiah expressed well this situation when he wrote:

"We hope for light, but there is darkness;

for brightness, but we live in the night.

 We grope along a wall like the blind;

we grope like those without eyes.

We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;

we are like the dead among those who are healthy" (Is 59:9-10)

Jesus is the light of the world

Jesus brings an answer to our quest, because he is the Light that shines in the darkness of our world. This light is a free gift; however, to receive it we must not only accept it but also cooperate with it. Our hearts and our minds must be open to the light and coming to the light we must rejoice in it, by walking in the light and leaving behind the deeds of darkness as a nightmare from which we woke up to find the peace that reassures our hearts.

In his healing ministry, most of the times, Jesus simply used the power of his word, commanding the sickness to leave and the person to be restore to health. But in this case, Jesus "spit on the ground, made some mud from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes", and then he ordered the blind man to go and "wash in the pool of Siloam (which means Sent)" (Jn 9:6).

Jesus did not ask for his faith, and the man did not know anything about Jesus, but he was ordered to cooperate in his healing, and he obeyed, washing himself in the waters of the Sent One (Jesus Christ).

Faithful to the truth, he gave witness to Jesus

After encountering Jesus and being healed by him, the life of the blind man became very hard. As we go on reading the passage, we find the story of a courageous and bold man who stood fearlessly for the truth. He was subjected to several interrogations, being insulted and threatened. His own parents were afraid of speaking the truth and left him to his own fate. In the end, he became truly and outcast, expelled from the synagogue and rejected by everybody. In spite of that, he was growing in faith, suffering for Jesus and giving witness to the one, whom he did not know well yet.

Having received eyesight, he received faith, and then strengthened only by faith he went through a series of trials, until finally the fulness of light shone for him, when Jesus openly revealed himself to him and he could say worshipping Jesus "I believe, Lord" (Jn 9:38).