FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
March 19, 2023

The Gospel story of the man born blind has it all. It is filled with plot twists and turns. It only takes 2 verses for Jesus to heal the man born blind, but the controversy surrounding the healing unfolds over the next 39 verses. The story presents us with an intriguing list of characters; not only the blind man, pharisses, neighbor; real leader, crowd, Jesus and disciples.

The real drama is in the interplay between the blind man and his interrogators:
            -neighbor can’t believe him
            -Pharisses: problems with cure on Sabbath.
            -Parents: fear – so blind man speaks
            - Pharisses: Jesus is a sinner and threw out the blind man
The blind man is abandoned by neighbors, rejected by parents, and expelled by Pharisses nevertheless. The blind man acts as a courageous witness to the work Jesus is doing. He stands up to the others alone, bolstered by a faith that is continuing to grow – until he meets Jesus himself.

The journey of the blind man toward greater insight about Jesus is a journey we all are called to make. The Gospel challenges us:
            -What are our spiritual blind spots?
            -How often have we judged rashly and not seen things as they really are?
            -Do we act like the blind man (fear)?

We all need to improve our spiritual sight, our eyes of Faith.
Lord, I want to see in our prayer, so we can follow him.