The gospel accounts contain many fascinating narratives. The gospel passage for this week is no exception. The narrative of the man born blind describes an unnamed man’s healing by Jesus and how that action affects him, his family, and the community as a whole.
Jesus makes clear that illness or infirmity were not a result of a person, or their forebears’, sinfulness. This stands counter to how a condition, such as blindness, was understood in first century Palestine. The profound change – enabling the man to see – caused the Pharisees to rail against Jesus for breaking the sabbath. Then, unhappy to be told that Jesus is a prophet, they exclude the man and his parents from the faith community. In Palestine, in the first century, exclusion from the religious community was exclusion from the community as a whole. This was the punishment this man received for being healed!
In our own lives we often have to face illness and infirmity – our own, or that of loved ones and friends. Often there is no apparent reason for these conditions, and not every illness is passed from one generation to the next. Some people can live with awful challenges; others seem to have few or no health concerns. In some situations, we can eat the right food, do the approved exercise, and still we get sick. What matters is how we face any illness or infirmity. If we are able to be honest with ourselves, and those around us about our feelings, we can face considerable hardships. This isn’t easy, it has its moments, and we do best when we are supported by our loved ones and friends as well as the medical profession.
We likely know a number of people who are courageous, determined and positive about their situations; such people are an inspiration to all of us to face the mental, physical and spiritual challenges we all face during our lives. We are fortunate to be part of a religious community that takes prayer, as well as health and healing, seriously. May we continue to pray and support one another in following the way of Jesus Christ.
Father Stephen Rowe