Friday, July 23, 2010

Lenten Homily based on John 9:1-41

As I was preparing my homily for today’s Mass I found myself drawn to reflect upon the Gospel reading in light of this question: “What is the unspoken story of each character’s life?” As a whole the story of the man born blind is a message of faith; a faith, which is seen to grow and deepen as life happens. It is an assurance to many of us who may at times find ourselves struggling with teachings of our holy catholic faith.
I could not help but wonder as I pondered the words of this gospel as to the unspoken story of this man’s life. In the latter part of this gospel passage John introduces us to the parents of this man. Yet this man is seen to be a beggar. What happened to the relationship that should exist between a parent and a child in this situation? There seems to be no longer any real connection between this man and his parents. I wonder what happened between those hours when these proud parents would have rocked their baby boy to sleep each evening and brag about him to their neighbors and now when left to care for himself he is seen to be a beggar dusty and dirty sitting at the corner of 1st and 3rd street in Jerusalem? A countless number of answers could be given to this question.
Our own journey of faith is affected by our life experience. Just as Jesus saw the blind man in a way that others could not, so too he sees us and every detail of life that has contributed to, who we are today. Jesus approaches each of us with knowledge of our whole life history because love seeks to understand better the one who is loved so that the invitation of faith may recognize and appreciate the slowness with which we sometimes accept and live out the faith to which Jesus invites us.
The experience of the blind man points to a journey in faith. At the outset of this gospel passage he refers to Jesus as the ‘Man called Jesus” who put mud on his eyes. A little later when questioned by the Pharisees he refers to Jesus as a ‘Prophet’. Finally, when confronted with Jesus one on one at the end of the passage he makes the ultimate expression of faith he calls Jesus ‘Lord’ and begins to offer him worship. He did not begin by proclaiming Jesus as Lord but by acting upon what was stirring within his heart as a result of his encounter with Jesus.
As the blind man was on his way to wash in the pool as Jesus commanded I wonder if he stopped and thought to himself, ‘what am I doing, no one has ever heard of a man born blind being healed of his blindness. Who am I kidding.’ Maybe he stopped many times before reaching the pool of Siloam but because he felt the inner stirrings of the man called Jesus he could not help but satisfy the curiosity he experienced.
It is these same inner stirrings that have given rise to the season of Lent, a journey that we undertake yearly when we seek to deepen our baptismal faith. Each one of us is at a different level in our faith journey but together we make this journey and it is together that we form the light of Christ in this world a light, which helps to guide others to know and love Jesus as he truly is.
Throughout the universal Church countless people will undergo a scrutiny this weekend during Mass. The Church’s intention behind this scrutiny is to help assist those on their way toward receiving baptism or full initiation into the Church at the Easter Vigil. By means of this scrutiny the Church hopes to strengthen those preparing to make the final decision to accept Jesus as Lord with their hearts as well as their minds at Easter Time.
Just as the man born blind could not find his way to the pool of Siloam without someone guiding him there so too with those who are seeking to enter the life of the Church. We the baptized must be for them a light shining in the darkness so that they may rejoice in due time when the supernatural life-sized smile of Christ shines upon them in its brilliance.
This journey of faith, which we call lent is not only for those who will enter the Church at Easter time but rather it is for all the baptized a time to deepen our faith in Jesus Christ. For as the baptized we have been drenched in divinity, and everywhere we go we drip the very mystery that we have become. In truth, God has given us the shirt off his back, his very own divinity.
As we receive the Eucharist in a few moments we will receive into the solar system of our souls the Son of God. Throughout the remainder of Lent let us strive eagerly to be the window through which his light shines upon the world.

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