Show Notes
God's love is big and merciful - nothing can separate us from it.
Gospel: Jn 9:1-41
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Episode Transcript
[00:00:12] Speaker A: Welcome to the blessed Sacrament Homilies podcast where our mission is to help everyone recognize and experience the presence of God. We hope you are nourished and encouraged by the word. Thank you for joining us.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: The Lord be with you.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John as Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him, rabbi, who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, neither he nor his parents sinned. It is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is still day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva and smeared the clay on his eyes and said to him, go wash in the pool of Silawam, which means scent. So he went and washed and came back able to see.
His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?
Some said it is, but others said, no, he just looks like him.
He said, I am.
So they said to him, how were your eyes opened?
He replied, the man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, go to Silawam and wash.
So I went there and washed and was able to see.
And they said to him, where is he? He said, I don't know.
They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them, he put clay on my eyes and I washed and now I can see.
So some of the Pharisees said, this man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath.
But others said, how can a sinful man do such signs?
And there was division among them.
So they said to the blind man again, what do you have to say about him since he opened your eyes?
He said, he is a prophet.
Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them, is this your son who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?
His parents answered and said, we know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age. He can speak for himself.
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ.
He would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason, his parents said, he is of age. Question him.
So a second time they called the man who had been blind. And said to him, give God the praise. We know that this man is a sinner.
He replied, if he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind, and now I see.
So they said to him, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?
He answered them, I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?
They ridiculed him and said, you are that man's disciple. We are disciples of Moses.
We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.
The man answered and said to them, this is what is so amazing. That you do not know where he is from. Yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners. But if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.
They answered and said to him, you were born totally in sin and you are trying to teach us.
Then they threw him out.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, do you believe in the son of man?
He answered and said, who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?
Jesus said to him, you have seen him. And the one speaking with you is he.
He said, I do believe, lord, and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said, I came into this world for judgment.
So that those who do not see might see.
And those who do see might become blind.
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, surely we are not blind, are we?
Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no sin.
But now you are saying, we see.
So your sin remains.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel story that is rich in what it teaches us on many levels.
Because here we see Jesus'profound love for someone who was suffering in life.
We see the irony of the one who was blind. Who actually could see clearly.
And we see those who thought they did everything perfectly truly being blind.
To being unable to see the truth of God's love right before them.
Now it's important to remember that in understanding the mindset of people at this time in world history.
They thought that if you suffered any kind of infirmity, any kind of physical struggle in life, it was God punishing you.
And if God wasn't punishing you directly, it was God punishing your parents through you.
Now, with our 21st century mindset, that sounds pretty despicable. I think we would all agree with that.
But that's what they thought. Now, the problem with that kind of thinking on a secondary level is you could also convince yourself that if infirmity was punishment for sin, and you were healthy and happy and everything was going well, well, then you must be doing everything right.
And that's what the Pharisees thought. They thought if they were healthy and everything was going well, well, they must be on the right track in how they live out their faith.
So what it did was it made them self righteous.
And at the heart of self righteousness is the false understanding that we save ourselves and that we don't need God's mercy because we're doing everything correctly.
Well, they weren't able to see because of that understanding, that this healing that Jesus offered was a manifestation of God's mercy.
And that that mercy is so profound that there's literally nothing it can't heal from the blindness of this man to washing away our sin.
So they were struggling with that, so much so that the true blind people were the Pharisees, because they were so sure that Jesus wasn't like them and that he was their enemy, that they couldn't see the goodness of God working in their midst.
And the blind man who found his sight testifies with perfect faith and teaches those people that thought they knew everything, what the truth was, that this would be impossible for someone that wasn't of God, and that he was truly a prophet in their midst.
So, taking that understanding, what does that say to us here in the 21st century? How does this relate to our lives?
Well, in virtually the same way that we can rest assured that there's literally nothing we face, that Christ's love can't heal, can't make whole again, in particular any of our brokenness and sinfulness and struggle.
And the secondary part of that story for us is that, and I say this to you with as much power as I can put behind it. If anyone who seems to be in a position of authority regarding faith ever tells you that you are not under the umbrella of God's merciful love, ever tries to tell you that you are excluded or unwanted or unworthy turn and walk away as fast as you can.
Because they are just like the Pharisees in the story. And I don't care if I do it. I don't care if a bishop does it. I don't care if a pope does it. Turn and walk away.
Because the ultimate truth of this gospel is that God's mercy and love. Is for all who look to it and trust in it. And allow it to enter their hearts.
