John 9:1-41
As
Jesus walked along, 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 this man nor his parents
sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must
work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one
can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When he
had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread
the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’
(which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The
neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this
not the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were
saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ But
they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ He answered, ‘The man called
Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.”
Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ They said to him, ‘Where is he?’
He said, ‘I do not know.’
They
brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a
sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees
also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put
mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said,
‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others
said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were
divided. So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It
was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’
The
Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until
they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them,
‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His
parents answered, ‘We know that
this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that
now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will
speak for himself.’ His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews;
for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the
Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is
of age; ask him.’
So
for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to
him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘I do
not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind,
now I see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your
eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’
Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of
Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not
know where he comes from.’ The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You
do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God
does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and
obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone
opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could
do nothing.’ They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you
trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.
Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and
when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered,
‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him,
‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I
believe.’ And he worshipped him. Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for
judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become
blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we
are not blind, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not
have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.
Reflection
How do I see mine or others’ misfortune? Do I always blame others or even our Lord
God?
In today’s prayer, I ask the grace that I can see
again so that I can realize how I am loved by God. .