Todays Gospel is about a man born blind who is given his sight by Jesus. He then becomes a symbol of the struggle between light and darkness or good and evil.

The man born blind moves progressively from darkness to light.  Initially he refers to Jesus as the man who healed him.  Next, he describes Jesus as a prophet.  Then he insists that Jesus must be from God.  Finally, he believes in Jesus as the Son of Man.

The Pharisees, who thought they had the light, gradually plunge deeper in darkness.  At the first inquiry, they acknowledge the miracle but are upset by the violation of the Sabbath.  During the second interrogation, they cast doubt on the authenticity of the miracle. Finally, they threaten and maltreat the man born blind.

Are we sometimes like the Pharisees?  Are we not sometimes blind and in the dark. We walk in darkness whenever we close our eyes to our fears, insecurities, and selfishness, or whenever we refuse to face the truth about our hangups, addictions and greed. We walk in the dark whenever we fail to see the sufferings of the poor, the sick and the abandoned, or whenever we ignore the lonely, the oppressed and the downtrodden.

Light shines in us every time we see more than meets the eye, have a vision of our possibilities or make commitments with courage. Light shines through us every time we brighten our surroundings or other people’s lives.  St. Paul in our second reading reminds us that we are children of the light whenever we “produce every kind of goodness and justice and truth.”

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell