4th Sunday of Lent 03-2-08

Cure of the Man Born Blind

Scripture Readings:
First I Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a (Spiritual Blindness)
Second Ephesians 5:8-14 (Children of the Light (by Baptism))
Gospel John 9:1-41 (Healing of Physical and Spiritual Blindness)

Prepared by: Kenneth A. France-Kelly, OP

1. Subject Matter
• Baptism
• Sight / Insight
• Spiritual Growth

2. Exegetical Notes
• In today’s Gospel, Saint John makes the distinction between: sight (physical sight) (βλεπω)
and insight (faith) (αναβλεπω). About the healing, John writes (v.7) that the cured man
came back able to see: (βλεπω). Again John (vv.19-21) uses (βλεπω) both in the question
of the Jews: How do you account for the fact that he can now see; and the reply of the
parents (βλεπω): But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we have no idea.
Lastly (v.25) the cured man recounts to the Pharisees: I know this much: I was blind before;
now I can see: (βλεπω). However, the cured man, when speaking with his neighbors (v.11)
declares the he received insight (faith): I was able to see (αναβλεπω). John continues with
the cured man replying to the Pharisees (v.15): He put mud on my eyes. I washed it off, and
now can see (αναβλεπω); and again (v.18) (the Pharisees) refused to believe that he had
really been born blind and had begun to see (αναβλεπω), and this man who now could see
(αναβλεπω). Here, I believe, that the Jews are trying to trick the parents by using
(αναβλεπω) in hopes that they would agree … and thus be put out of the synagogue …
excommunication (αποσυναγωγος): for belief in Jesus as Messiah.

3. References to the Catechism of the Catholic Church

• 588: Faith in the One God and Savior: … those who pretend not to need salvation are blind
to themselves (the universality of sin).
• 1504: Christ the Physician: … Jesus makes use of signs to heal: spittle and the laying on of
hands (Mark 7: 32-36, 36; and 8:22-25), mud and washing (John 9:6-7).
• 2827: Our Father … Thy will be done: If any one is a worshiper of God and does his will,
God listens to him. (John 9:31).

4. Patristic Commentary and Other Authorities

• Saint Augustine: Several of Augustine’s points on this chapter of the Gospel of John are: (1)
To set forth briefly the mystery of this blind man's enlightenment; (2) You understand now
who it is that was sent; for had He not been sent, none of us would have been set free from
iniquity. Accordingly he washed his eyes in that pool which is interpreted, Sent — he was
baptized in Christ. If, therefore, when He baptized him in a manner in Himself, He then
enlightened him; (3) The blind man, having been cured by an anointing of his heart, has
become the herald of grace and preaches the gospel; endowed with sight, he becomes a
confessor; (4) Now is He, the day, discerning between the light and the darkness. For
judgment am I come into this world; that they who see not might see, and they who see might
be made blind. (Tractate 44 on John 9)
• Saint Theophilus: God is seen by those who have the capacity to see Him, provided that
they keep the eyes of their mind open. All have eyes, but some have eyes that are shrouded
in darkness, unable to see the light of the sun. Because the blind cannot see it, it does not
follow that the sun does not shine. The blind must trace the cause back to themselves and
their eyes. In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are shrouded in darkness
because of your sins and evil deeds. (Office of Readings, Wednesday of the 3rd Week of
Lent.)
• Hilary of Poitiers: (Holy Spirit in Baptism) After the water-bath, the Holy Spirit rushes upon
us from the gate of heaven, that we might bathe in the anointing of the heavenly glory, and
that we might become sons of God through adoption spoken by the voice of the Father (Tract
on the Psalms, 64:14).

5. Examples from the Saints and Other Exemplars

• Saint Paul: His experience on the Road to Damascus (and the rest of his life).
• Saint Anthony of the Desert: He heard the words: If you would be perfect, go, sell what you
have and give to the poor. He gave away all his possessions. He stayed to see his sister’s
education completed, then retired into the desert. He led a very austere life. His courage
never failed as he fought temptations, and even the devils. Saint Anthony’s only food was
bread and water. He wore sackcloth and sheepskin, and he often knelt in prayer from sunset
to sunrise.
• Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Her deep faith kept her moving forward and working
with the poorest of the poor despite the darkness and the attacks on her faith in God.
6. Quotations from Pope Benedict XVI

• Benedict XVl: In fact, he added, by dying He “immersed” Himself in the love of the Father
and disseminated the Holy Spirit so that believers in Him might be reborn from that never-
ending font of new and eternal life (Vatican Information Services: 14 January 2008).

7. Other Considerations
• John seems to develop seven steps in Spiritual Growth: (1) That man “they” call Jesus …
(the faith of a young child); (2) He is a prophet, he replied. (one to whom someone listens):
(3) Do not tell me you want to become his disciple too (one who id followed); (4) If this man
were not from God, he would never have done such a thing (a holy person); (5) With that
they threw him out bodily! (He was excommunicated for having called Jesus the Messiah!
This is a deduction, since the verb “to be put out of the synagogue” (αποσυναγωγος) is used
here: in v23 and implied in v34.); (6) Do you believe in the Son of Man (Jesus is fully human);
and, (7) I do believe Lord, he said, and he bowed down to worship him (Jesus is God, fully
divine, as seen by his act of worship).
NB: The importance of seven stages might just be insignificant; or then, it might have
significance as the completeness of spiritual growth!

• Randy Lopez: Literary Analyses of Johannine Characters in The Man Born Blind: (1)
Actions and Speech — At first, the blind beggar just volunteers facts (9:9-12), later the man
gets into a theological discussion regarding God's granting petitions to sinners (9:30-33).
The neighbors ask themselves as to the identity the man who had formerly been blind and
the source of his new found sight (9:8-12). In this, the man appears and is adamant that he
did recently gain sight and offers information as to the process of how he received sight and
the identity of the man who is responsible for it (9:9, 11). He then reveals that the man who
granted him his sight was indeed "the man called Jesus" (9:11). (2) The Movement of the
Man Born Blind within the Gospel — His presence in the story is three-fold: a.) to be the
vehicle for the sign: Jesus uses the man as a vehicle to which the sign was performed —
making the man a sign that points to Jesus as the man who shows the way to the Father; b.)
to testify about Jesus: the man becomes an active proclaimer of the sign and he was the
subject of inquiries of the neighbors, the Pharisees, and the Jews, plus his proclamations
have a tone of assertiveness — adamant that he was a blind man who is given sight by
Jesus — a man whose prayers are heard by God; and, c.) to represent the Johannine
community: the man makes a develops that Jesus is "a man", then proclaims him to be "a
prophet", then calls Jesus "a man...from God", and finally worships the "son of man."
(catholic-resources.org)

Recommended Resources
• Saint Augustine: (Tractate 44 on John 9)
• Father John Mancantelli (Sermon: Sunday of the Blind Man): The healing of the blind man
shows in a striking way that God gradually illumines a soul. This event was recorded for our
benefit, and together with many other events and recountings, helps us to see the diverse
manner in which Christ heals and illumines a soul, and also serves as an instruction to us,
who are also being gradually illumined, more or less according to our reaction to God's grace
(The Orthodox Christian Church, Billings MT).