Three Blind Men

​A Reflection for the Gospel for Sunday, March 19th, 2023:
The Fourth Sunday of Lent

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John
9.1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38 

As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.

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 the man who was blind 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.”

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.”

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 worshipped him.

The Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, walks in the dust of the earth and comes across men who can’t see and men who won’t see.

Consider three different dusty street locations: 

    Blind Man #1: Jericho
    Approaching Jericho, Jesus passes by a blind man.
        He is a beggar.
        He became blind over time.
        He heard Jesus was nearby.
        He shouted for mercy, calling Jesus the Son of David.
        Jesus spoke healing words, and healing happened.
        The man with open eyes followed Jesus.
        Here, faith came before healing.

    Blind Man #2: Bethsaida
    Entering Bethsaida, Jesus is presented with a blind man.
        He is a beggar.
        He became blind over time.
        Others brought him to Jesus and begged for his healing.
        Jesus touched his eyes twice,
        — once with spit, to let the light in
        — once with bare hands, to let the mind understand.
        Healing progressed to completion.
        Jesus told him to go home.
        Here, the faith of others came before healing.

    Blind Man #3: Siloam
    Walking through Jerusalem, Jesus sees a blind man.
        He is a beggar.    
        He was born blind and all say someone’s sin is to blame.
        Neither he nor his friends called out for healing
        —Jesus came to him. 
        Mixing part of himself with the dust of the earth,
        — Jesus covered the man’s unseeing eyes.
        Jesus sent him to Sent to wash off the mud.
        When he opened his eyes, Jesus was nowhere to be seen.
        Others saw him see and were thrown into confusion;
        — they perceived a dissonance between Love and Law;
        — they discarded the healed, distrusting the Healer.
        Jesus sought him out.
        The first time the man laid eyes on Him, 
        — Jesus gave him the chance to really see who He was.
        The man took the offer with both hands, 
        — then lifted them in worship.
        Here, faith followed healing.        
        
There are so many differences in these three blind men. There is one similarity. They were all beggars.

When Jesus wants us to see something, He keeps showing it to us to give us a chance to open our eyes. Just yesterday, before I sat with this Gospel reading, I heard a quote that struck a deep bell inside my soul. I had to write it down and look up who said it.

“The true protagonist of history is the beggar: Christ who begs for man’s heart, and man’s heart that begs for Christ.” Father Luigi Guissani

The beggar at the centre of it all. The nexus of creation is a relationship — the desire of one for another. The seventh day is the pinnacle of creation, not the sixth. Not God making mankind, but God and mankind resting together in the garden. And we lost it. And He won it back. Now, not only can He open our eyes to our own need, but He opens our eyes to His — the Lamb of God and Lion of Judah begging for a heart. Yours. Mine. I yearn to answer Your call, Beloved.




Noreen Smith

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