A multitude of life lessons from the cured blind man, the Pharisees

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” – which means Sent. So he went and washed, and came back able to see. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out. When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him. – John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38

By SISTER JACQUELINE GITONGA, F.S.P.
Guest columnist

“Eeeewwww!” might be your first reaction when you read this Gospel about Jesus mixing dirt with his saliva and smearing it on a blind man’s eyes. “How could Jesus do that?”

Hold on. Remember, Jesus is the Son of God, which means that he is God. Whenever Jesus does or says something in the Gospels, he is always teaching us something very important. As God, he is always teaching us how to become more like him.

So, what is Jesus teaching us in thid Gospel? Let’s walk through those lessons together.

1. First, since Jesus is God, he could have easily spoken a word and the blind man could have received his sight instantly. However, on many occasions, Jesus used something material to perform a miracle. Remember when Jesus fed the five thousand? He used five barley loaves and two fish. And what about at the wedding at Cana? He used water and turned it into wine.

Jesus can heal and perform miracles without using anything because he is God who is all powerful, and nothing is impossible for him. However, Jesus uses everyday items to bring healing and joy into our lives. This is what a sacrament is. Our Catechism teaches us that a sacrament is a visible sign of the invisible grace (spiritual help) that we receive from God who is at work in it to bring us his new life. Through the sacraments (baptism, Communion, reconciliation, confirmation, etc.) we become children of God and are strengthened by God to live as his children in our world today. God uses the visible signs of water, bread, oil, etc., in the sacraments and through the prayers offered by a priest or deacon, we experience God’s grace and healing in our lives.

God has given us all the spiritual strength we need in the sacraments to become like him. We only need to ask for his help. How awesome!

2. As we continue to read the Gospel, Jesus is teaching us something else. The people who had known the blind man before he was healed began to wonder whether he was the same person now that he could see. The blind man told them: “I am.” But even then, some people did not believe him.

Sometimes this happens to us as Christians. When we were baptized, we became followers of Christ. We may look the same on the outside, but something different has changed on the inside. We became a new person. We became a child of God called to live in a Christ-like way. As St. Paul says, “put off the old man…and put on the new man.”

So, as God’s children, we try to live according to God’s commandments. We go to church on Sunday. We talk to God frequently through prayer on our own or as a family. We read the Bible to learn God’s ways. We help those who are in need in our community; we treat others with kindness, mercy and love; we tell the truth and try to be honest in our relationships with one another. When we do these things, we are still the same person on the outside, but because we have experienced the love of Christ through the sacraments, we are now different on the inside.

But, like the people who did not accept the blind man now that he had been healed, some people may not accept the “new you.” They may think that you are pretending or wanting to show off that you are better than others. You may even get bullied for doing what is right or standing up for the truth.

Do not be discouraged. The blind man who was healed stuck to his story. Jesus had made a difference in his life. Jesus had healed him and given him a new life. Let us imitate the blind man by being courageous!

3. There is another point that Jesus wants to show us in this Gospel. The Pharisees asked the blind man what had happened to him. He told them that he had been healed by Jesus, but the Pharisees did not accept his word. They even went further and “threw him out” and asked him, “Are you trying to teach us?”

Whoa! This kind of treatment can seem harsh for a man who was just trying to share the good news that Jesus had healed him! So, what was really going on here?

Well, the Pharisees had heard about Jesus – the new rabbi in town who was performing miracles and preaching to many crowds – and they were jealous. So, when the blind man came along with this miracle that he could now see, they were blinded by their jealousy to the point that they could not rejoice in the miracle that had happened before their eyes: a blind man could now see!

This is something that happens to us very easily, too. How many times do we see good things happening to people around us and we are jealous? Maybe someone got a new friend, a new phone, or went on a trip or received an award that we wished that we had. It could be that someone posted a video on Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok about what they did that went viral or they posted pictures on Facebook or Twitter of something that happened to them … and now they are famous!

What is our reaction? Do we rejoice with our friend, or are we jealous? Jesus teaches us to rejoice in the good that is happening all around us. As the Body of Christ, God is always at work in our friends, family and world through goodness, truth and beauty. Can we take a moment to be happy with those around us?

4. Here’s another point. The Pharisees thought that they were the best and could not learn from anyone. They were proud and could not see how God could teach them through Jesus about the good work that God was doing right in their neighborhood! Sometimes we, too, can have that same attitude tell others around us by our words or actions: “I know! Don’t tell me what to do!” and then behave just like the Pharisees in the Gospel.

Jesus is showing us this Lent to learn how to be docile to the Holy Spirit who is teaching us about the ways of God all the time. God teaches us through our parents, family members, teachers, friends, the Bible, the teachings of the Church etc. Let us pray for a listening attitude and open heart so that we are always ready to learn. 

5. The last part of this Gospel is a great takeaway for all of us who try to live our Christian life today. Jesus heard that the blind man who was now healed had been thrown out by the Pharisees. This man probably felt alone and unwanted because he was only telling them the truth of what happened to him.

So, Jesus came to him and told him who he was: “The Son of Man,” which means, He is God. And that is why the Gospel concludes with the phrase that the blind man “worshiped” Jesus.

Jesus knows that it is not easy to live God’s values in today’s world. We may be bullied for trying to do the right thing. We may be treated differently because of our faith as we try to follow God in our lives. Take courage. As Jesus came to the blind man to let him know that he is God, so Jesus always remains close to us to remind us that he is God. With him in our lives, we have nothing to fear. God bless you!

A native of Nyeri, Kenya, Sister Jackie, 43, professed her final vows in 2019. Her hobbies include hiking, baking, writing songs and poems, meeting new people from around the world, dancing, cooking, kayaking and sharing the joy she finds in her Catholic faith on social media. Sister Jackie, the national director of Pauline Cooperators, holds a doctorate in human resource development from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She co-authored the 2021 book “Millennial Nuns: Reflections on Living a Spiritual Life in a World of Social Media.”