‘I see’ said the blind man is a paradox beautifully encapsulating today’s Gospel story. This man who had been blind from birth, who had never been able to see anything, suddenly is able to see clearly. It is fitting, then, that one who has lived in perpetual darkness is given sight by the one who calls himself the Light of the World. But the man who has been healed received more than just bodily sight, for while the first focussed images formed on his retinas, another focussed image was formed in his heart. The man blind from birth was healed so that he might be a true witness to the glory of the Lord.
The unfortunate circumstances of the man’s birth caused many to condemn him: who sinned in order for this misfortune to befall him, they asked. But Jesus answers that the man was born blind so that the glory of God and his works would be manifested in this man. There is a simple clarity to his new found vision, and when the Pharisees look into Jesus in order to condemn him as a sinner, the man whose eyes have been opened declares: “I do not know if he is a sinner; I only know that I was blind and now I can see.”
The Pharisees, all of whom had been able to see since their birth, cannot see from where Jesus comes. The healed man cannot believe this: his eyes have been opened by Jesus, so he must come from God. God does not listen to the sinful, but to men who are devout and do his will. If Jesus were not from God, he would have been incapable of such miraculous acts – acts that we sinful people cannot effect.
Seeing that Jesus is from God, he rejects the falsity of the Pharisees, and returns to Jesus: ‘Tell me who he is, so that I may believe in him.’ “You are looking at him’, says the LORD, and the man responds, ‘Lord, I believe’.
The gift of sight is precious, and all too often taken for granted. Those who cannot see are denied a great privilege. But sometimes we need to have our eyes opened in order to see the things that are true. If we might be healed from our blindness and see the truth, then we might be ever more truly able to say, ‘Lord, I believe.’
The unfortunate circumstances of the man’s birth caused many to condemn him: who sinned in order for this misfortune to befall him, they asked. But Jesus answers that the man was born blind so that the glory of God and his works would be manifested in this man. There is a simple clarity to his new found vision, and when the Pharisees look into Jesus in order to condemn him as a sinner, the man whose eyes have been opened declares: “I do not know if he is a sinner; I only know that I was blind and now I can see.”
The Pharisees, all of whom had been able to see since their birth, cannot see from where Jesus comes. The healed man cannot believe this: his eyes have been opened by Jesus, so he must come from God. God does not listen to the sinful, but to men who are devout and do his will. If Jesus were not from God, he would have been incapable of such miraculous acts – acts that we sinful people cannot effect.
Seeing that Jesus is from God, he rejects the falsity of the Pharisees, and returns to Jesus: ‘Tell me who he is, so that I may believe in him.’ “You are looking at him’, says the LORD, and the man responds, ‘Lord, I believe’.
The gift of sight is precious, and all too often taken for granted. Those who cannot see are denied a great privilege. But sometimes we need to have our eyes opened in order to see the things that are true. If we might be healed from our blindness and see the truth, then we might be ever more truly able to say, ‘Lord, I believe.’
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