Blindness. It is true that there are some who are born blind. There are others that have blindness thrust upon them through some tragedy of life. There are others that choose blindness, refusing to see and acknowledge things that are before them. In the gospel according to John we encounter a man who was born blind. (Jn 9) Jesus attributes the meaning of this man’s blindness – not to sin, as the common opinion of the day would be – but rather to the positive end that the works of God might be made visible through him. This man has a part to play in the manifestation of God’s glory.

Visibility. How can we see something and come to know and understand it if it is not visible to us? Jesus came among us to make God visible. Jesus tells us very clearly in the gospel, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (Jn 9,5) Jesus is the light that makes things visible. He brings light into our darkness. Earlier Jesus testified to his critics, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn 8,12) What we have never had access to, a fullness of life, Jesus places before us. The prologue of John’s gospel tells us, “What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn 1,4f) The First Letter of John expresses this truth further, “for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us.” (1Jn 1,2) Again the prologue of John’s gospel tells us, “No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.” (Jn 1,18) Jesus is the light of the world who comes to cast light on God’s presence in the world. What was once invisible, because of the darkness of sin, is now made visible in the light of Christ. Jesus, the Son, reveals to us the Father, God, so that we might see him, know him and believe in Him. This vision of God leads us to eternal life, a life that is visible to us and can be understood. Life in God through Jesus the Christ is not an idea or an abstract principle but is concretely visible to us and therefore able to be known and followed. Do you “see” what I am talking about? Perhaps not clearly yet, but our encounter with Jesus, the light of the world, can help us to come to the fullness of truth.

Truth. What gives us the ability to see is the truth. The truth is a lamp that enlightens our whole being. Today there is much darkness in the world and spiritual blindness because we do not acknowledge the presence of truth. All truth is relative today and in this dictatorship of relativism we can no longer see clearly and everything falls into shadow and darkness. We become lost because we cannot see the way forward as there is nothing to light our path. The blind man in the gospel holds on tightly to the truth in the face of severe questioning by the authorities. He grows in his understanding of the truth revealed in Jesus and so comes to see more and more clearly. He first is able to refer to Jesus as “the man”, (Jn 9,11) then he comes to see that he must be something more and calls him “a prophet” (Jn 9,17) and finally with the help of Jesus he comes to call him “Lord” (Jn 9,38) and worship him. Once we have seen this truth then we know that if we have seen the Son, we have seen the Father, for the Father and the Son are one. Jesus, the light of the world, shows us the face of God the Father, and makes his works visible in the world. This visible truth continues today in the sacraments of the Church.

The blind man today receives his sight through an “anointing” and a “washing”, clearly this prefigures baptism. It is in the sacrament of baptism that we are first “enlightened” by Christ and receive the light of faith to guide us through life. In baptism we are cured from having been born blind through original sin and are given the gift of eternal life, a life in the Spirit, that allows us to walk in the light, in the way of Christ. During this Lent we remember the gift of our baptism, the light of Christ, the truth that frees us and the life of God that we share through grace. We look for the visible manifestations of the works of God that are all around us in the world for those who have the eyes of faith to see. Every day is filled with the works of God and the signs of his presence, may we always have the sight to see, to rejoice and to worship the beautiful face of God.