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- The astonishing story
of a blind man
(John 9, 9-14)
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When passing by, Jesus saw a man who had been blind since
birth. This man asked nothing but Jesus healed him and is with
him all along his story. Little by little the blind man's sight
improves. |
The blind man experienced a metamorphosis. A complete change
of his perception of the world: he saw, for the first time, his
village, his parents rather than only touching them, He could
make a relation between the odours of the soil and the growing
grass, between the taste of the bread and this thing he was breaking
before. He thanked God that the one who had healed him was a
Prophet.
At this point he was going too far for the Pharisees. These touchy
masters of the Temple did not accept that a beggar could know
more than them. They called him a sinner and they withdrew into
their beliefs.
And then the blind man was called on to say what he thought about
it making him to find out his own response. The questioning was
harsh. Did it really happen to you? And who did it? The blind
man stuck to the facts: I was blind and now I see. But at the
second questioning he started to become nervous and that aggravated
his case towards the Pharisees: " If this man was a sinner,
he could do nothing!". It is not yet an expression of faith
but he is on the way.
The graduation of his evolution is indicated by the various titles
he gave to Jesus: " a man named Jesus of whom he does not
know where he comes from" Then "Jesus is a prophet"
and finally in the presence of Jesus the blind man " believes
in the Son of Man"
In consequence he was thrown out of the synagogue.
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This story tells us some thing about our own experience. Some
times we find out that "our eyes are open" and every
thing is different. It is like a new taste for life, a speech
that we could not understand before and now it makes sense. |
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- It happens also, as to the blind man, to be thrown out
of our own surroundings, that our relatives don't recognize us
and let us alone. We have to face Jesus, alone. It is in these
conditions that we progress in our" professions of faith"
that will be shared by others, many others.
How to know that all that come from the Spirit or from the Evil?
"Of what we have heard, of what we have seen with our own
eyes, of what we have contemplated and our hands have touched
of the Word of life…." 1, John 1). And sometime after
a long time we understand that all is not finished, that we need
a new step, a new meeting with Jesus, like it happened at the
end of the story when the blind man-that-can-see met Jesus again
and said:" I believe in you, Lord!".
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