“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision”- Helen Keller

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus and his disciples come across a man who had been blind since he was born. It is one of the most memorable in the Gospel of John, filled with irony because a blind man comes to see when those who think they have sight are revealed to be spiritually blind.

In the first part of the Gospel, we hear Jesus’ response to a prevalent belief during the Greco Roman period, that misfortune and disability were the result of sin. That belief is why Jesus is asked the question of whose sin caused the man’s blindness—his own or his parents’. Jesus does not answer directly, but instead gives the question an entirely different dimension.

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned: he was born blind so that God’s work might be revealed in him.” (John 9:3)

Jesus then heals the man. The only problem was that people in his community had a hard time accepting this change. The rule was that you could not work on the Sabbath, a day of religious observance  and abstinence  from work for the Jews, and since Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath, the religious leaders believed Jesus was breaking the rule. The man born blind goes through a remarkable transformation not only in gaining the precious gift of sight, but comes to a greater understanding about who Jesus is and what it means to be his disciple, while the Pharisees (Jewish religious leaders - those who should see), are the ones who remain blind being only intent on preserving the law with hearts that have grown hardened.

Our eyes only work when there is light present. Think about how difficult it is to see in the dark and how scary it can be when there is no light. Very good things happen when there is light and when we focus on the Light of the World who is Jesus.