Blind

I was part of an RCIA team for many years, and absolutely loved the weeks which led up to the Easter Vigil initiation of our new church members. It’s always a very emotional time.

If the priest chooses, he can use three Gospel readings from Church Year A for the 3rd, 4th and 5th Sundays of Lent. These are three particularly deep and powerful stories of Jesus’ ministry while on earth.

On this 4th Sunday of Lent, the RCIA reading is of the man born blind. It’s something I can related to very much this year.

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. “

John 9:1-3

Blindness is not the result of sin, and blindness itself is not a sin.

That’s a comfort, in a way, because I know of so many areas in which I’m blind. Then something comes along to open my eyes. That’s when I have a choice: Do I continue my ways in blindness, or do I learn and change my path?

When I’m presented with that choice, that’s when continuing can be sinful. If I want to follow my Lord, then … I need to change direction.

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.”

John 9:40-41

Once He gives me sight, then I need to follow Him. Simple as that.

“It is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.”

John 9:3

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.