Homily

Can you see in the dark? It is an interesting question because it all depends on what you mean by "see." Therefore, if it is absolutely dark, it is correct to say that you cannot see in the dark, because your eyes are not able to perceive any object or thing that is surrounding you. So, in this sense, no you cannot see in the dark. But at the same time, even if you are in darkness, you can still have the power of vision; your eyes are still working fine even if, because of the darkness, they are unable to pick up on anything. Therefore it is, in this sense, it's true that you can see in the dark. It just does not help.

St. John paints a great picture for us of blind people in today's Gospel, but they are not all blind in the same way. First of all you have the man himself, who is physically blind until Jesus cures him. Once he can see, his cure reveals the blindness of many other people. So, first we hear about the neighbors, who, even though they are all looking at the same man, cannot agree on who he is, because they were used to seeing him as a blind beggar and nothing more than that. They have him characterized in this way, listed labeled, and described, so much so that now that he can "see" he looks like a completely different person to some of his neighbors.

They drag him off to the Pharisees to get a religious authoritative opinion. The Jewish religious authorities declare with great conviction that the person who produced the miracle cannot be from God because He did it on the Sabbath. They think they can see that very clearly. But when some of them said that it is impossible for a sinner to perform such miracles they now decide that the man was never really blind at all! Once again, problem solved. They call in his parents to prove their point. But that doesn't work either. Calling the man back again, they tell him they know the truth, so it's time that he gets himself in line and agrees with them, but he will not go against what he knows to be true.

It is almost like a comedy, as the Pharisees are so desperate to prove this is not a miracle, they reach for any argument or tactic that they can think of to try and deny the miraculous cure that is staring at them (literally) in the face. They suggest their opinion is the only one that matters, their judgment equals the truth of the situation, they see more clearly than anyone else can and they are desperate to be acknowledged. But when they cannot get the man to agree with them they just throw him out because they are not at all interested in seeing the truth. They are only interested in making sure that people accept the truth as they define it for them. The blind man is cured physically after he washes, and sees for the first time the light of day. Imagine how glorious that must have been. But then he comes to see something else, bit by bit, as the story progresses. He begins to see by the light of Christ, and when the Lord tells the man who He really is, this clear-sighted Jew falls to the ground and worships the Lord.

We have the God-given intellect, intelligence to make judgments about the world, about truth, and about our lives. But we also need to use that intelligence and judgment with some kind of standard of truth, because people will definitely and often disagree on what is right, what is good, and what is true. We see that even in today's Gospel. So, in a certain way we are like people standing in the dark. Yes, we can still see, we still have the power to decide how we will act, we still have our intellect, but unless there is some light, we cannot see which way is the right way to go. So we can either stumble around in the dark, or we can try and produce our own light, which is always going to be incredibly dim, extremely unreliable and insufficient to light the way well enough so we can move ahead not with fear but with freedom.

Jesus says in today's Gospel that He is the light of the world. Those who walk in His light need never fear they will be lost, or be unable to find the truth or not have a guide and a way into life. Those who follow Christ are like this man born blind who, in the end are willing to worship Him as the Son of God and willing to love Him Who is the Lover of Mankind. Like the Pharisees there are always those who claim they have a different truth, a better light, a more compassionate and loving philosophy that either pretend it is Christian, or see itself as superior to the teaching of Christ. Now, as back then, there are those who try to bully and coerce people into accepting their version of truth. They may even threaten to "cast us out, so to speak, as foolish, bigoted, uncaring and even hateful. They tell us they are morally superior and have a greater love for humanity and all of creation than do we who follow Christ.

But like the man born blind who could not be shaken from the Truth Who cured him, if we, like him, continue to bow down at the feet of Christ to worship our Lord and our God, we will always have the light we need to walk in truth and in freedom. Truth and freedom are not made by, or given to us by any human person. They are the free gifts that can only be given by Christ our Lord.