This Sunday’s Gospel has Jesus curing a blind man. It’s a wonderful
story. The appeal is in the magic, the joy, the miracle that happens; but
that’s not the end of it. As we hear in the Gospel, things get pretty
complicated for that man.
Jesus brings him out of darkness for a purpose. He sends him into
action: “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means, 'the one who has been
sent'). The Gospel writer doesn’t tell us the man’s name. Maybe he’s meant to be
you and me.
Where Jesus used spit and mud to give sight to the blind man, he uses
the Gospel — handed down through the centuries — to give sight to us. But once
we are brought into the light, our life too can get complicated. For the Gospel
calls us to action - maybe even to make changes very close to home.
Seeing by the light of the Gospel, how can we fail to recognize Christ
in the relative or friend whom we haven’t forgiven or spoken to for years over
some incident that maybe we can’t even remember? And once we do see, what
action do we take?
Seeing by the light of the Gospel, how do we miss the Christ standing in
the shadows who listens and watches with sadness as we buy into gossip or
bullying; as we condone, by our silence, the racially or ethnically degrading
joke, the anti-Semitic or homophobic remark? And once we do see, what action do
we take?
Once we recognize conflict between our life and the Gospel we are called
to act. To fail to do so is to pretend not to see. And everyone knows that,
thanks to Jesus, we Christians can now see.
As we continue our journey through Lent, let us examine our life by the
light of the Gospel; and where we see that change is needed, let us go wash ourselves
in the pool of Siloam and then come back to truly love one another as God loves
each and every one of us.
4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
………………………………………………………………………………..
Readers
of this blog might enjoy these books by Deacon Lex. Both are available on
Amazon.com:
Just to Follow My Friend: Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday
Life
Synchronicity as the Work of the Holy Spirit: Jungian Insights for
Spiritual Direction and Pastoral Ministry
No comments:
Post a Comment