To
link with Fr. Kevin's homilies for Year B please tap
or click here
To
link with Fr. Kevin's homilies for Year C please tap
or click here
Fourth
Sunday of Lent (Year
A) 22nd March 2020
A reading
from the Holy Gospel according to Gospel John 9:1-41
As Jesus walked along, 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
this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that
God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work
the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming
when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am
the light of the world.” When he had said this, he
spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread
the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go,
wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then
he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbours
and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is
this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were
saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No,
but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I
am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then
how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The
man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said
to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and
washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where
is he?” He said, “I do not know.” They
brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened
his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he
had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud
on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of
the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for
he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How
can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And
they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What
do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He
said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and had received his sight until they
called the parents of the man who had received his sight
and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was
born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents
answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he
was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he
sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is
of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said
this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had
already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the
Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his
parents said, “He is of age; ask himself.”
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind,
and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that
this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not
know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though
I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What
did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered
them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become
his disciples?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You
are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know
that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do
not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here
is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from,
and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen
to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and
obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard
that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this
man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered
him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying
to teach us?” And they drove him out. Jesus heard that
they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do
you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And
who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus
said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking
with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And
he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world
for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those
who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees
near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are
not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you
were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We
see,” your sin remains.
THE
BLIND THAT SEE
The
story is told about the time of a major blackout in New York
City. It happened at rush hour close to Christmas. The whole
of downtown Manhattan was plunged into inky darkness, traffic
was grid locked, nothing moved. Just at that time a man who
was walking towards a bus stop felt lost, helpless and frightened.
Then he bumped into someone. He apologised and then they
got talking together. He happened to be someone who lived
close by to where this lost soul had had his apartment. The
stranger offered to guide him home; 'stay close to me and
I promise to guide you' he cautioned. Sure enough the stranger
guided the man home, right to his very doorstep. Now, the
amazing thing was that the guide who led him to his apartment,
through the darkness of that city, was in fact a man who
was completely blind from birth. He was such a good guide
in the dark, because he had discovered another way of seeing.
He had developed inner vision.
John the Evangelist who gives us the account in today's Gospel
of the blind man who was cured didn't record it as one other
miracle cure of Jesus. There are as we know quite a number
of accounts of healing from blindness in the Gospels and
I am sure, many more that went unrecorded. Rather, this is
the story of a man who was enlightened by Jesus and who came
to faith in him - what saved him was the fact that he had
no problem in admitting his blindness. This blind man in
fact saw more than the religious leaders of his day - he
saw the goodness of Jesus and had more faith in him than
they had. The Pharisees had perfect physical eyesight, yet
Jesus refers to them as being blind. They were spiritually
blind; because they refused to acknowledge that fact, and
seek the help that he was offering them. There are, Jesus
would illustrate, many forms of blindness, besides that of
the physical kind - the kind of blindness that can darken
and warp the minds and hearts of all of us. Here are some
of them:
Selfishness that blinds us to the need of others
Snobbery that blinds us to the dignity and equal rights of
our brothers and sisters
Pride that blinds us to our own faults
Prejudice that blinds us to the truth
Love of money that blinds us to spiritual values.
Kevin
Lyon
Archdeacon of Glendalough
