The story of Jesus healing a blind man who tells the Pharisees that he can now see is told in today’s Gospel from St. John. Imagine how excited the blind man must have been to see for the first time. He would no longer need to beg to survive and readily shared his joy and acknowledged the healing power of Jesus. The blind man progresses from darkness to light. The Pharisees, on the other hand, first appear to accept the blind man’s healing but then begin to doubt and finally deny Jesus’ heavenly origins. The early Christians saw physical blindness as a metaphor for the spiritual blindness that prevents people from recognizing the divinity of Jesus and following His teachings. Today’s story testifies to the power of Jesus to heal not just the blindness of the eye but, above all, the blindness of the heart.
The Gospel shows that one thing we need to bear witness to Jesus is experience of the person of Jesus Christ. Today the Church invites us to reflect on God’s love and compassion for the whole world and to be joyful because of it. God loves each and every one of us, and today we are invited to say yes to God’s love, to believe in the holiness of Jesus and to recognize God’s presence in our daily lives. We are also called to have the humility to recognize that God works in others too, sometimes through the most unexpected people. How often do we refuse to believe that we can learn from those who oppose us and disagree with us? And what areas of the Church, of society and of our culture need serious healing in our own time? Where can we recognize the light of Christ shining in the world today and in our own community? Let’s celebrate God’s love and healing power as the blind man did after encountering Jesus. God’s divine intervention helps us transform into people who live lives of goodness, generosity and justice, reflecting God’s light.