Sunday of the Blindman 2023

Christ is risen. He is risen. Well, we have heard

the last of the Paschal Seeds and Gospels. And

like that of last Sunday, it was quite long.

John chapter 9, verse 1 through 38. It was only

John 9:1–38

missing three verses at the end. I'll read them

for you because I think they're important. After

all this happened, Jesus said, for judgment,

remember, judgment is God setting things right.

That's good for those who've been oppressed,

who are poor, who are in fear and anxiety. It's

bad for those who do the oppression, who are

rich without generosity, who lord it over. Judgment

is good if you need it. For judgment I am coming

to this world that they which see not might see.

Jesus is the one who enlightens us. We don't

see. The hymn says, again, we are to identify

ourselves with this blind man. That's hard for

us to do because we think we see. They that which

see not might see. And they which see, might

be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which

were with him heard these words and said to him,

Are we also blind? Jesus said to them, If you

were blind, in other words, if you didn't know

any better, you wouldn't have sin. You'd catch

a break. But now you say we see. Therefore your

sin remains. This long gospel... No means tedious

or boring. No, these are words of life, words

of illumination, directed particularly to those

newly baptized, but to the rest of us who are

interested in renewing that baptismal grace.

Words which lead us to understand Jesus Christ

and ourself a little bit more. It's important

to say also today that while the Paschal season

is ending, Actually, it's not ending. It's coming

to a culmination. A fulfillment. Leave -taking

on Tuesday night. The vigil for Ascension on

Wednesday night. The liturgy for Ascension on

Thursday morning. And then ultimately, Pentecost.

The 50th day after Pentecost. The gift of the

Holy Spirit. That's why I say it's a culmination.

Everything comes together on those feast days.

Ascension is Thursday. People work on Thursday.

People go to school on Thursday. Ascension is

the semi -forgotten, one of the most great and

awesome feasts of the church, and yet somewhat

neglected. So think about that. I want to speak

about... To narrow things down today because

there's so much going on in this gospel. So much

going on. The interrogation, the cross -examination,

the deposition of the parents. Oh, we don't know

and we can't tell you anything. Yeah, he's our

son. You ask him yourself. Things like that.

What I want to talk about is very simple. Two

things. The first is this. The Savior's healing

of this blind man. He had the condition of having

no eyeballs. The Savior's healing was not in

response to this man's faith, was it? It was

in response to this man's need. And it was freely

and lovingly given. The man did nothing at all.

And God came to him, our Lord Jesus Christ, our

Savior and our God, taking mud. With his spit.

Dust. And putting it. And fashion. Reminds us

of Genesis. Where God takes dust from the earth.

And fashions us. Everything. Without question.

Did you know that? God loves everyone. Infinitely.

No matter what. Without question. No strings

attached. God loves everyone. And the resurrection,

which is the healing of our body and the soul,

the rising from the dead, and illumination in

this life, is a gift granted to every single

person. Each and every person. And until the

day of resurrection, we do suffer. We travail.

We're in pain. We're in uncertainty. I assure

you, like St. Paul, we know that the whole creation

groans and labors with birth pangs together until

now. Not only that, but we also who have the

first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves

groan within ourselves eagerly awaiting the adoption,

the redemption of the body, the resurrection.

The man didn't earn a healing, but he did respond.

And that's the key. He did respond. That's what

faith is. It's a response in action. Certainly,

not mainly, but certainly, this response is not

an intellectual response, not a rational acceptance

of what God has done and who he is and what the

church is all about. When you say, I believe

in one God. Can you explain that? Because God

is ineffable, eternal, beyond our conception.

It's a statement which requires then our faithfulness,

our action. For this man, understanding comes

later. Just like the reading from Acts, this

man in the jail, the jailer. He's frightened

because his life is on the line, because the

prisoners are escaping. And what does he say?

Sirs, says to St. Paul and Silas, what must I

do to be saved? And by the way, what do you think

he means by saved? He means saved from destruction.

That's what he means in this world. but also

in the life of the age to come. So they say,

believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will

be saved. You and your house of belief, he says,

as in follow, be faithful, trust, do the commandments,

respond to God, love God above all, worship God,

pray to God, forgive your enemy, all these things.

These are acts of faithfulness, not some kind

of intellectual mind game. About what the faith

is. And this is how the man that was born blind.

When he begins to see. And this is a pathway.

This is an image for us of the path of the Christian

life. We become illumined. We become understanding.

Or we refuse. Notice it's the religious leaders

that say. White is black. The sky is not blue.

It's raining. John doesn't have a blue shirt

on. It's green. They refuse to accept the truth.

Who is standing in front of them? Jesus, the

way, and the truth. What do we want to be like?

We want to be like this man. Not like his parents.

No. God says through the prophet Isaiah, Be ye

my witnesses, says the Lord God, and my servant

whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe

and understand that I am he. Before me there

was no other God, and after me there shall be

none. What does this mean? It means to not be

like these parents of this man, looking to protect

yourself, because the truth will cost you. It

means... What Isaiah is saying to be illumined

by God in your soul. To have gentleness and care.

So that you become a modern day blind man. Or

a woman at the well. Or the paralyzed man by

the pool. Each with a story to tell. Each a miracle

you've witnessed. Each a gift of grace. That

we've experienced. Tell these things. At the

right time. At the right place. With the right

words. To the right person. The good things that

God has done for me. For you. Here in the church.

Well. We're fine with our displays. Of religious

devotion. And love. Let me ask you a question.

What about when you're in public, in a restaurant?

Do you thank God for your food, or is it one

of these? So nobody sees. I'll tell you a story.

It seems trivial. Watching basketball playoffs

a few years back, major star from Serbia. sat

down on the bench to rest. Someone handed him

a water bottle. He looked at it, he made the

sign of the cross, like that, and drank the water

with thanksgiving to God, with millions of people

watching him. It seems trivial, I know, but let's

do better than that then, brothers and sisters.

What about at work? What about your choices in

life? What about, as my friend Father Tom Sirocco

says, the P word, politics. Does our faith inform

our politics, or does our politics inform our

faith? Beloved, you exist to bring glory to God,

that the works of God may be made manifest in

you. You bring glory to God best, not when everything

is going well, and you are healthy, and your

life is full of pleasure. That's what we want,

and when it comes, it's a blessing. We bring

glory to God not when we question and accuse

God of lacking care for creation. You bring glory

to God best when those times are difficult, when

you have to defend the truth and stand up for

what is correct in the church. When suffering

intrudes, when sorrows come, that's when you

glorify God. I'll end with these words from Metropolitan

Archbishop Seraphim of Zimbabwe, something Fred

sent to me yesterday. This reading and all those

that we have heard and hopefully absorbed during

the Paschal season, you know they're all about

baptism. They're all about the change of life,

all about commitment to follow in Christ on purpose,

about living his life. Thy kingdom come on earth

within me as it is in heaven. Here's what the

Bishop Seraphim says. Let us hope that the miracle

which opened the eyes of a blind man by birth

will also open our eyes, that we might be driven

to repentance through our course. Towards the

holy sacrament of confession. Which will be realistically

expressed. In our particular orientation in our

daily life. Hence our blindness stops. When we

live within the boundaries of the sacramental

life of the church. That I believe. Put your

trust in the process of holiness that the church

has given us. Be illumined. Christ is risen.