Wednesday, March 18
The story of Jesus healing a man blind from birth should be fairly straightforward, a tale of joy and thanksgiving. Instead this miraculous healing event becomes a source of dissension and controversy, among Jesus’ Disciples as well as among Pharisees in the temple.
The Disciples became embroiled in heated conversations on what caused the man’s blindness; could it have been misdeeds by the parents that was visited upon their child? Was this man’s blindness part of an angry God’s retribution?
The Temple priests were also vexed by Jesus’ healing of the blind man. Why?
First, because Jesus did this act of healing on the Sabbath, a day on which work of any kind is forbidden. Yes, the priests assumed that an act of miraculous healing involved work.
The priests went even further by disputing whether the blind man had indeed ever been blind. They went so far as to visit his parents, encouraging them to say that this was not their son and that he had not been blind.
In the midst of this heated controversy and doubt, the hero of this story is the blind man, who, when questioned by the Pharisees, spoke a simple statement of faith, “What I know is that I was blind & now I can see.”
True blindness was revealed to be among the Disciples and Pharisees who could not see the new world of Christ that was unfolding before them.
Prayer: Lord, in this time of skepticism & fake news, give us the courage to recognize the truth of your healing spirit, both in our lives and those around us. Give us faith in your works through us, your people. Amen.
– Kathleen Burger-Gerada