Readings:
1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
Who
Sinned?
This is
extraordinary time indeed! Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday.
Public Mass is not celebrated with parishioners in attendance today. We are
still in lockdown, keeping social distancing, to slow down the spread of
coronavirus pandemic. At this Mass celebrated for you, my parishioners, without
your physical presence, I can see your faces, I know where you sit. I can call
your names during my reflection. I know those who will laugh at my jokes and
those who would not get it right-a-way. I can see those taking down notes and
those nodding their heads and those who are not. Since you are not physically
present, I am only left with my imagination. Know that you are always in my
mind and prayers. I miss you a bunch!
Coronavirus has
entered our lives and changed the way we live, the way we interact, and the way
we love. Who sinned? The other day I went grocery shopping, I was surprised
that, there was no bread, water, banana, milk, toilet paper and eggs on the
shelf. Panic buyers had bought more than they needed and cleared the counter so
that the rest of us had nothing left. The basic things needed by all were
bought by a few. Who sinned? The virus has made us greedy, selfish, lonely, and
forget one another. Who sinned? When faced with national disaster, natural
disaster, sickness and devastation, we ask: who sinned? We are quick to find
faults and point accusing finger. But are we asking the right question? Christ
reminds us that our thoughts should go beyond the one who sinned. “Or those
eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that
they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? By no
means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”
(Lk. 13:4-5).
So, to the question:
“Who sinned?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that
the works of God might be made visible through him.” In the face of serious
disasters, such as coronavirus, our question should not be ‘Who sinned?’ we
should rather open our eyes to see how the glory of God would be made manifest.
The readings of today point us away from darkness of sin to Christ the light of
the world, as seen in the cure of the man born blind. Christ came into the
world to drive away the darkness that envelopes us, so that we may be bathed in
his light. May be we have been too complacent to the extent that we cannot see
Christ in our midst. We must therefore, open our eyes and wake from our
spiritual blindness, so that Christ may shine forth in our lives. In the second
reading St. Paul reminds us to “Live as children of light, for light produces
every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth… awake, O sleeper, and arise
from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
We are all blind
in one way or the other. Our blindness may be physical, moral or spiritual.
Physical blindness, like that of the man born blind, may be our inability to
see with our eyes. But that does not mean the blind person is disabled. When we
are deprived of one sense, like sight, touch, smell, taste or hearing, other
senses are heightened and enabled to fill in for the lost one. We can be
morally blind when we cannot see our defects or when we are in denial of them.
Spiritual blindness may be caused by inability to see Jesus in our lives, due
to ignorance, hatred, anger, superstition or cynicism. Today, Jesus cured the
blind man of his physical and spiritual blindness. He also healed the blindness
of those around him and convicted those who felt that they could see. They were
blind and refused to recognize Christ in their midst. They were blinded by
their hatred of Jesus and projected that hatred to the man now healed of his
blindness.
God is able and
capable of healing our blindness. He can raise us from obscurity to greater heights,
as he did for David in the first reading. Christ came to cure our blindness,
physical, moral or spiritual. But we must go to him. This, again is the process
of coming to faith in Christ. Before Baptism, we were in darkness but after
baptism, we are washed in the water of rebirth and anointed, like David, and
raised to the exalted position of king. Our understanding and knowledge of
Jesus must grow exponentially, like the man born blind, from seeing Christ
simply as a man (the man called Jesus made a clay and anointed my eyes.), to a
prophet (He is a prophet.”), and finally Lord (“I do believe, Lord”).
Being a disciple
of Jesus may cost us everything. The blind man had to surmount many social
difficulties. He endured insults, abuses, ex-communication and abandonment by
his parents. But he had a simple faith: he obeyed Jesus. He went to the pool
and washed his eyes. His obedience was rewarded with the gift of sight, a
symbol of his faith. He was able to confront the powers that be: “If he is a sinner,
I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see. I told
you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you
want to become his disciples too?” “This is what is so amazing, that you do not
know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen
to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is
unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man
were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” The man with his
newfound faith is now a disciple of Jesus. This is what we are called to do
during this fourth Sunday of Lent as we move towards Easter.
The question for
us today is: “Are we blind, or do we claim that we can see?” Christ warns: “If
you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can
see, this means that you are still blind.” If we refuse to acknowledge our
shortcomings and open our eyes to see those in need around us, we condemn
ourselves to darkness and deprive ourselves of the gift of faith and the light
of Christ. Are we blind to our faults? Do we find it easy to blame others and
ask the question: “Who Sinned?” The greatest of our faults is to be conscious
of none. The time is now to pick up our bible and read. Confession is still an
option for Catholics. Let us learn to be less cynical but trust in the goodness
of people. To do this is to recognize that Jesus is always in our midst. He
wants to cure our blindness. The problems in our lives are never insurmountable
for Jesus. It is not ‘who sinned?’ but so that the works of God might be made
visible through us. Amen!
Rev.
Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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