Jesus Christ healed a man born blind on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were indignant about what Jesus Christ did and they searched for the cured blind man. At first, they could not believe that the man was born blind and that Jesus was the one who cured him. But when they interrogated the cured blind man, he said to them that indeed it was Jesus Christ who cured him. Later, Jesus met the man and asked him if he believed in the Son of Man who cured him and who was then talking to him. The man replied, “Lord, I believe” (Jn 9:38).
The uniqueness of the story about the healing of this blind man is that the man did not know who Jesus Christ was and that among the blind whom Christ made to see, he was the only one born blind. Moreover, in the story, the man had a process of understanding the One who cured him. First, he thought of Jesus Christ as an extraordinary man who could cure such an extraordinary disease.
Then, when asked by the Pharisees about his opinion on the person who cured him, he said that the extraordinary man was a prophet for no one in history was able to cure a man born blind. He must then come from God. Later on, when Jesus asked him if he believed in the Son of Man who was talking to Him, the man called Him “Lord” and then worshipped Him.
Like the man born blind, there are a lot of people who never know who Jesus Christ is. These are those who never heard something about Jesus or who simply ignore the opportunity of knowing Jesus Christ by being distant from the Church and the church’s activities. There are also a lot of people in our Christian nation who know something about Jesus Christ but never really believe at heart the knowledge they have about Jesus Christ.
These are those who claim to be Christians or Catholics yet they become members of religious groups and fraternities that are against Catholic beliefs such as Rizalist, P.B.M.A., and Masonry. These people are called towards conversion and genuine worship of the true God who incarnated. They cannot say that they are Christians and much fewer Catholics whey they do not believe in Jesus Christ and do not follow His teachings and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
In general, the story of the man born blind is a story about us. We all need conversion and we have to develop our knowledge and relationship with Jesus Christ from considering Him to be simply a Man among us to worshiping Him as God among us. Indeed Jesus Christ is a God-made man. He is a true man as claimed by the blind man, but an extraordinary man like the prophet who brings the word and the message of God to humanity. Jesus Christ is also God whose words and teachings are truth, laws, and eternal. We all have to believe in Him and worship Him as our Lord, Savior, and God.
In this Season of Lent, Christ calls us toward genuine conversion. Conversion begins with our right knowledge of Christ and knowledge is achieved through our personal encounter with Him not only in the Bible but most especially in our prayers and sacrifices. In this Lenten Season, we meet Christ through our efforts of uniting ourselves in the sacrifices of Jesus Christ. Indeed, it is only by carrying our daily crosses, following Jesus Christ until the Calvary, and offering our lives for His glory that we come to unite ourselves with Him and say to Him together with the man born blind: “Lord, I believe.” (REV. FR. ORLY MENDOZA/PADRE PIO MISSION CHURCH)
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
(Violet/Rose) Cycle A/Year I (March 19, 2023)
1Sm 16:1, 6-7, 10-13/Eph 5:8-14/Jn 9:1-41
