The Holy Drama of Grace

The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A)
(Note: This Gospel is also optional for Years B & C with Scrutinies.)

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. John 9:35–38

This is the conclusion to the story of the healing of the man born blind. It is the fifth of seven signs (miracles) in John’s Gospel that point to the divinity of our Lord. This healing especially confirmed Jesus’ teaching from the previous chapter: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Jesus was the Light Who came to dispel all darkness, and now He illustrates this fact by opening the eyes of the blind man. This story is quite long and detailed. The details it includes makes it much more than a miracle. It is also a dramatic story revealing both the consequences of rejecting Jesus, as well as the blessings received by one who turns to Jesus in faith.

We begin with the detail that this man has been blind since birth. It was a common misconception at that time that such a birth defect might have been caused by the sins of the parents. In part, this came from a misreading of Exodus 20:5–6 in which God said that He inflicts punishment “on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation.” Jesus makes it clear that this was not the case; this man’s blindness was a result of the natural disorder experienced by humanity as a result of original sin. If humanity had never been cast out of the Garden of Eden, disease and natural disorders would have never existed. For this reason, we should understand that we are all “blind” in the sense of being born into the state of original sin and are, therefore, in need of the grace of spiritual sight.

The healing of this man is done purely on Jesus’ initiative. This shows that God’s healing action in our lives is always His initiative. But Jesus clearly offered this man healing because He knew the man would eventually come to faith in Him, which is the far more important healing that took place in this story.

After the man is healed, a very interesting drama unfolds. The Pharisees hear of the healing and begin to interrogate the man. Afterwards, they also interrogate the man’s parents and then the man for a second time. Throughout their interrogations, two things happen. First, the Pharisees slowly become more agitated, more irrational and end by completely rejecting both this miraculous sign and Jesus Himself. The man, however, begins with what appears to be a bit of ignorance about Jesus, but as he is interrogated and challenged to explain his healing, he deepens and clarifies his convictions, ending in the deepest faith when he cries out to Jesus, “I do believe, Lord.” Then we are told that the man worshiped Jesus.

The dramatic unfolding of this story teaches us that when we are given the grace of God by hearing His holy Word spoken and witnessing His mighty hand at work, we must make a choice. Either we will respond in faith and slowly be drawn deeper into that faith, or we will rationalize it away and reject God’s saving action in our lives. It is not possible to simply remain indifferent to the Gospel when we hear it spoken or when we see its effects changing us or others.

Reflect, today, upon the two paths this sign from Heaven had on those present to this miracle. You, too, are present to this miracle through your reading of it. How will you respond? Will you imitate the Pharisees and discount the deep spiritual truths this action conveys? Or will you open yourself to the transforming power of this healing? Commit yourself to the path of this blind man. Say to our Lord, “I do believe, Lord.” Apply those words to every action of Jesus in your life and allow that faith to lead you into worship of Him Who is the Light of the World.

Jesus, Light of the World, You came to dispel the darkness caused by original sin. You came to heal our blindness and open the eyes of our souls to Your true Light. Please open my eyes so that I may see, and give me the courage I need to profess my faith in You and worship You with all my heart. Jesus, I trust in You.

Fourth Week of Lent

https://mycatholic.life/

Among the compelling Eucharistic themes proclaimed in
today’s readings is the notion of “participation” as found
in Saint Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Good stewards
are part of a Eucharistic family: loving, welcoming,
serving. An important part of living as a steward comes
about in the many ways we can participate in the life of
the Church. No matter how much time we have to give,
no matter what our skills or interests, no matter what our
level of commitment, there is a way to participate as a
good steward to enrich our lives and the lives of others
to build up the Body of Christ. How do you participate in
the life of your parish?

In today’s second reading Saint Paul’s final appeal is a
call for unity. God created that unity. Good stewards
who share Christ’s life in the Eucharist belong to each
other, just as God in the three persons of Father, Son and
Holy Spirit enjoy unity. We are an intimate part of God’s
divine bond, God’s “family.” Saint Paul maintains that
we ought to act that way. In the Church there is a bond
of family, yet plenty room for variety. Christian stewards
use their uniquely varied gifts to live a Trinitarian faith, in
unity, promoting Christ’s peace and justice. How do we
promote unity in our parish?

This weekend we celebrate the feast of Pentecost and the
coming of the Holy Spirit among the believers of the early
Church. Saint Paul reminds us of the special power the
Holy Spirit has bestowed upon us and how that power
gives us the potential to live extraordinary lives of faith.
Good stewards recognize this power and use their gifts,
through God’s channel of grace, to transform their lives
and the lives of others, and thus hasten God’s Kingdom.
Good stewards know that it is through the Holy Spirit that
they can proclaim: “Jesus is Lord.” Do we believe that
Jesus is Our Lord? If so, how do we show it?

A challenge for the Christian steward is accepting, and
even rejoicing in, the fact that our commitment to faith
is often a counter-cultural one. Perhaps this is nowhere
more striking than in the quick cultural “end” of the
Easter season, and our own belief that Easter is leading us
through May to the great feast of Pentecost on May 28.
We see this discordance in many Christian
celebrations adapted by the popular, commercial
culture. While we are still enjoying the season of
Christmas and looking forward to Epiphany, most
American homes have taken the Christmas tree to the
recycling center and moved on to thoughts of Valentine’s
Day. During the sacrificial early days of Lent, there’s
something jarring – yes, just wrong – about all those
pastel Easter eggs and bunnies appearing in stores. And
all that chocolate!

So, as Christian stewards, we feel no surprise that as
we break our Easter fast and begin our meditation on the
Resurrection, we find that the stores have tucked those
chocolate bunnies away on discount shelves, and we’re
off to the next commercially competitive venture. And
as the great feast of Pentecost beckons us, we realize
that the society around us gives this occasion hardly a
passing nod. Apparently, there’s no money to be made
from Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit came among the
apostles and imbued in them the courage to be true followers of Christ. Courage,
strength, faith, the Spirit – these are hard to market in the public square, aren’t
they? The willingness to live and ultimately to die as martyrs for Christ, as the
apostles did, these are things that are hard to package in bright paper. They don’t
fit well in the greeting card aisle.

Perhaps during these days of May when we as Catholic stewards continue to
celebrate the season of Easter and look forward to Pentecost, we might examine
our own willingness to step outside the culture in our celebration of great
Christian feast days. Keep the reminders of the Resurrection around you. Let your
family prayer reflect the marvels of the season. Help your children to be aware
of the liturgical calendar. Explain to them the meaning of the changing colors of
the priests’ vestments. Dress up in red for Pentecost Sunday. But most importantly,
educate yourself and your family on how powerful it is to understand and
celebrate the great markers and mysteries of our shared faith experience.

In today’s Gospel Jesus charges his followers to “make
disciples of all nations.” What exactly is going on here?
What is this Great Commission anyway? Good stewards
know they are directed to share what they exercise
stewardship over: their life of faith in Christ Jesus. They
know Jesus didn’t direct them to go to church and to
keep quiet about it; or to go out into the neighborhood,
workplace or marketplace and just be nice. Christ’s
Good News is meant to be shared. Many people in our
communities don’t know about Jesus Christ. Does that
bother us? Do we care? Do we realize we are supposed
to do something about it?