The Man Born Blind

How does one come to faith?

It is like coming to receive sight as the blind man born blind in the Gospel today. Put yourself in his shoes or rather his eyes. Close your eyes and imagine what it is like to never see the world around, never to see the ones you love or even the ones you hate. What is color? What is bright? What is blue sky? What is sun?

The blind man's other senses are there and useful. When Jesus says Go and Wash in the pool of Siloam, his ears are working, his heart is full of hope and working and his legs and will are working.

Go and Wash

Jesus tells us today Go and Wash your sins away in the pool of my forgiveness and mercy and then your eyes will be clear and you will see the world as you have never seen it before, full of wonderful things and beautiful things that God has given to us, full of wonderful people and beautiful people that God has given to us and we like the blind man go back to Jesus in gratitude for our sight and we receive the greatest sight, the sight of Jesus, the healer, the teacher, the redeemer, the Son of God. And if you look really closely at Jesus, you see that he is flesh and blood like any human being. You can see the blue veins and the red arteries and the clear eyes that see into the depths of your soul.

Some people don't like to see Jesus.

Some people refuse the gift of sight. They say he cannot heal, he cannot forgive sins. It is all some kind of trick or optical illusion. It is so sad for those people in the Gospel today and it is so sad for the people in our world today. They have so many things dancing before their eyes, so much noise pounding in their eyes that they cannot hear the command of Jesus Go and Wash.

And we who have sight today

come and see Jesus in the mystery of the Eucharist. We cannot see the Body that is nailed to the cross in the mystery of the sacrifice. We see only the bread, but it is the same Body. We cannot see the blood that is poured out from the wounds and the head and the heart, but it is the same Blood. Let us come to Jesus today with gratitude for the gift of faith.