3 April

Almost all of the really worthwhile insights in life occur to us gradually. Sometimes these insights take a lifetime. In our relationship with Christ, things are no different. We may have discovered him quite suddenly: in a moment in the liturgy in church, on a weekend retreat, in a conversation with a friend. It could have been in a most ordinary place. In C.S. Lewis’ case, it was on the top of a double-decker bus on the way to the zoo! But wherever and whenever the moment, it is always just a beginning. We may see Christ, but we then spend a lifetime learning what knowing Christ means.

Our gospel passage today is about a blind youth to whom Jesus gave sight. People who had known him blind were so astonished, they thought at first it was a look-alike. They then brought some prominent people, some Pharisees, who seemed blind to the reality of what had happened. All they could see was that Jesus had acted on the Sabbath, and had thereby broken Law. It followed, in their thinking, that Jesus was a sinner, so he could not have been the healer! They simply could not admit that the young man had been healed. They called to his parents. Was this really their son? Of course it was. The leaders turned again to the young man. He stuck to his story. As the questioning goes on, he becomes even more aware of what he owes to Jesus, and more aware that Jesus embodies a power and a love and a grace that these people around him, for all their influence, do not have. In the end they dismiss the young man. Jesus encounters him again and the youth recognizes an even greater authority that calls for his allegiance.

This story is about a person who came to see more and more clearly, while other people became more and more blind to the same reality. Life is like that. There are those who recognize the power and love of Christ, and there are those who are completely unable and unwilling to do so. Today we can make assumptions that healing happens only in certain technical and scientific ways, all of which are valid. But we can also be blind to the hidden ways in which Christ can heal through our memories, our thinking, our emotions, if we are prepared to be open to his healing love. Sometimes it may happen through a friend, sometimes it will be through a professional or pastoral counselor, sometimes a doctor. Our Lord has many ways to reach us. Thanks be to God.

Peace,

Fr. Bob+