In today's Gospel (John 9:1-41), Jesus challenges our tendency to assign blame for suffering. When asked who sinned to cause a man's blindness, Jesus responds, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him" (John 9:3). Our limitations are not punishments but opportunities for God's glory to shine.
After Jesus heals the man, the real drama unfolds. The Pharisees, fixated on their interpretation of Sabbath laws (John 9:16), miss the miracle. They see with physical eyes but remain spiritually blind.
The first reading echoes this theme. When selecting Israel's next king, Samuel is reminded, "Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance, but the LORD looks into the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Similarly, Paul urges the Ephesians to "live as children of light" and avoid the "fruitless works of darkness" (Ephesians 5:8-11).
This Sunday, let us examine our own blindness:
- Where are we like the Pharisees, missing God's work because it does not fit our expectations?
- Where do we judge by appearances rather than seeing hearts?
May we, like the man born blind, move from darkness to light, from confusion to clarity, from saying, "the man called Jesus" (John 9:11) to proclaiming, "I do believe, Lord" (John 9:38). For sometimes, our greatest struggles become the very places where God's works shine brightest.
