Throughout Salvation History, we find God acting in unusual ways, calling us to rethink our priorities and expectations as he works to lead us back to himself. Today’s readings give us good examples of this. We begin about 1,000 years before the time of Jesus with God’s surprising choice of the boy David to be Israel’s king. In a society that prized the firstborn, warriors and wise men, Samuel had to accept God’s unusual choice of the last of Jesse’s sons – a mere shepherd – to be anointed as king of Israel. The choice of David and the statement that God sees differently than we do prepares us for the story of the healing of the man born blind in today’s gospel account. Now the core question to ask as we listen to this encounter is: what are we supposed to see?
As you know, John’s Gospel provides us with a great deal of theological insight as it recounts Jesus’ words and actions. Keep that in mind as we examine today’s gospel account. It opens with the statement that Jesus saw a man who had been blind from birth. As you will recall, in those days, it was believed that such a malady was a punishment meted out on either a person or his descendants for some serious sin he had committed. So, it makes sense that the disciples would ask Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Pay attention to Jesus’ response. He says: “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” This teaches us that God doesn’t punish us but sometimes we are afflicted so that we may be able to experience God’s saving work. His explanation also provides us with an introduction into all that was about to follow: he was continuing God’s creative work. To illustrate that, mimicking God’s creation of Adam from clay, Jesus made clay to smear on the man’s eyes. Jesus then told him to wash, and that washing opened the man’s eyes. As God had created man from the clay of the earth, Jesus made this blind man whole through the clay of the earth.
However, just as he was beginning to enjoy his newfound sight, he found that the people around him were getting annoyed. Religious leaders debunked Jesus, asserting that God would never sanction work on the Sabbath. That was their narrow interpretation of the Third Commandment: to keep holy the Sabbath. On the other hand, the blind man’s parents were too afraid of repercussions to take a stand on what had happened. In the end, only the formerly blind man himself gave testimony, realizing in the process that nobody wanted to believe that Jesus had done him good. But the man saw one thing clearly: Jesus could not have healed him “if he were not of God.”
This man, who is nameless so that everyone can recognize themselves in him, at first knew nothing about Jesus except his name and that he had opened his eyes. As he went through the process of gaining a new perspective and being persecuted for it, however, he understood ever more clearly that the one who had healed him was truly keeping holy the Sabbath by doing the work of God. Jesus – the Son of God – had worked in unusual ways and had opened his eyes to new dimensions of God’s goodness and that was what got him – and Jesus – into trouble.
After the poor fellow had been questioned, abandoned by his parents and thrown out of the temple, Jesus found him again. This time, Jesus explained that, unlike the others, this man who could now see was, indeed, seeing in new ways. When Jesus assured him that he had encountered the “Son of Man,” the man bowed down in worship.
What about us? We have been made out of the clay of the earth. You will recall that just a few weeks ago on Ash Wednesday we heard “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return.” But, we are given a new outlook on life through the waters of baptism. We are called to recognize God as he does good things for us. This Sunday, as we listen to these readings, let us be open to God working in and through us just as he worked through his Son, Jesus.
Let us be open to encounter God in unusual ways as we continue our Lenten journey. Then, we will be able to join Jesus as he acts in most unusual ways, dying on the cross as a common criminal, forgiving even those who put him on the cross, and rising to new life again.
Like the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time, we can sometimes let our own understanding of God – and our own plans for our lives – get in the way of the great things he wants to do for and through us. During this Lenten season, we are invited to open our eyes of faith. Let us reflect on our vision of our faith and be humble enough to admit that we sometimes allow our own ideas to blind us to the will of God. Let us look with a new faithful eye at the work that God is doing in and through us. That is the message for today. Then we, too, will be prepared to experience a most unusual reality – God’s peace in our lives and a glorious life with God forever in heaven!