4th Monday of Lent (March 23) “I was blind, now I see”

Prepare to Listen.  Take time to still your heart and mind then prayer with the psalmist: Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
 
Prayerfully Read John 9:24-34
24So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God!  We know that this man is a sinner.’  25He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner.  One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’  26They said to him, ‘What did he do to you?  How did he open your eyes?’  27He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become his disciples?’  28Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.  29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’  30The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.  31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will.  32Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.  33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’  34They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’  And they drove him out.
 
Prayerfully Wonder
One thing the Pharisees knew with certainty: the man’s healer wasn’t from God.  They knew, therefore, he was a sinner (v24) and wanted the formerly blind man to admit that.  He says he doesn’t know whether Jesus was a sinner or not but can boldly state: ‘One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’  He courageously refused to retell his story to unbelieving ears and mocks their ignorance. ‘Here is an astonishing thing!  You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.’  He then proceeded to teach them about who was and wasn’t of God.  Jesus, his healer, had to be from God, admitting he does know Jesus wasn’t a sinner.  This former beggar demonstrated insight entirely lacking in the religious rulers, exposing their blindness.  A key idea in John’s Gospel relates to where Jesus was from.  If people knew where he came from, they believed they would know who he was.  Hence the debate about Jesus’ origins.  The blind man was convinced that Jesus was from God because of his power to perform an unheard-of miracle—healing a man blind from birth.  He was ready to believe when Jesus finally returned (read vv 35-38).  ‘Lord, I believe,’ he confessed.
 
Prayerfully Reflect
The man’s second encounter with Jesus was all he needed to confess a confident faith in Jesus.  As the coronavirus plunges us into disarray, take time today to experience a fresh encounter with Jesus so you too can boldly claim: ‘Lord, I believe.'
 
Respond to Jesus
Lord, I don’t want to become blind because I refuse to change my mind (repent) about my beliefs and behavior.  Please open my eyes today so that I too can say, ‘One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’  Help me see you today in this new reality we’re all now living.  Amen.
 
Go live obediently in the world.  Be confident in Jesus despite circumstances.