The Blind Man Who Saw

 

 

 Our Blessed Lord had restored sight to a man blind from birth. The Pharisees began making an investigation of the miracle. There was no denying the fact that the blind man could now see; but he Pharisees were so determined that this should not be accounted a miracle that they went to his parents, who testified that the boy had been born blind. They made up their minds that no amount of evidence would ever change their opinion, for: “The Jewish authorities had already agreed that anyone who acknowledge Jesus as Messiah should be banned from the synagogue.” (Jn 9:22) The man born blind thus was the first of a long line of confessors who Our Lord said would be driven out of synagogues. The Pharisees, finding the blind man, said that Christ could not possibly have done it because they said, “He is a sinner.” When he who was blind became impatient with the questions of the Pharisees and their refusal to accept the evidence of their senses, he argued against them. “If that man had not come from God, He could have done nothing.” (Jn 9:33)

The beggar was far wiser in his understanding of the miracle than the Pharisees, as Joseph was wiser than the so-called wise men of Egypt in the interpretation of the dream of Pharaoh. The progress in the blind man¼s thinking and faith was like that of the woman at the well. First, the blind man said of Him: “The man called Jesus.” (Jn 9:11) Later on, after further questioning, he said, as did the woman at the well: “He is a prophet.” (Jn 9:17)

Finally, he declared that He must come from God. Such is often the progress of those who finally come to the truth about Christ. When the cured man confessed Christ to be the Son of God, the Pharisees excommunicated him from the synagogue. This was serious; for it cut off the beggar from the outward privileges of the commonwealth of the people and made him an object of derision. Hearing of the ban, Our Lord, restless until He found the lost sheep, sought out the condemned man. Meeting him face-to-face, He asked, “Have you faith in the Son of Man?” (Jn 9:35) And the beggar said, “Tell me who he is, sir, that I should put my faith in him.” (Jn 9:36) Our Lord answered as he did to the woman at the well: “You have seen Him....indeed it is He Who is speaking to you.” (Jn 9:37)

The man who was blind then prostrated himself before the Lord in adoration. His was not the faith that confessed with the lips but which worshiped Truth Incarnate. His reasoning was so simple and yet so sublime. He Who could perform such a miracle must be of God! Then, if He was of God His testimony must be true.

The Pharisees had made a complete investigation of the miracle; there was no doubt among the witnesses. The parents and the man himself admitted that a great miracle had been done: a miracle of the eyes to restore his vision; and of the soul, giving him faith in Christ. Because the Pharisees rejected the evidence, Our Lord told them that they were the blind leaders, and because they had rejected Him, judgment would fall upon them. He told them they had a chance to be illumined by Him, the Light of the World. Without that illumination, their blindness could be a calamity; but now (because they had rejected that illumination), it was a crime.

(excerpt from “Life of Christ”)

Reflection on the Archbishop’s words:

St. John’s description of the healing of the man born blind is one of the most powerful healing stories found in the Gospel accounts. It comes at a point when people are taking sides as to whether or not Jesus is the Messiah, the One Who has been promised to Israel. The division of the people will be between those who accept the Light of Christ and walk clearly in it and those who reject the Light of Christ and remain in spiritual darkness. Archbishop Sheen shares with us some of his treasured insights into this great miracle story. He shows how the man born blind, in his simplicity, had a clearer insight into the truth than the Pharisees with all their theological learning ever achieved regarding this miracle of Christ. The difficulty of the Pharisees was not physical in origin but it arose from an interior blindness caused by the closeness of their hearts to the reality of Who Jesus was, namely, the Son of God and the Messiah. This is what accounts, as Archbishop Sheen points out, for the refusal to acknowledge such a magnificent physical healing when all the evidence pointed to its being a reality. The Pharisees were filled with a pride that made them look down on the man born blind as someone “steeped in sin” (Jn 9:34) because he had been born with a physical handicap. Yet the irony of it is that the blind man’s simple openness gave him a light of faith to see clearly who Jesus was and to believe in Him! The Pharisees, because of that barrier of blindness, could never look upon Jesus with an honest evaluation, but they were always preconditioned to reject him by their prejudice and spiritual blindness.

Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR
Vice-Postulator of the Cause