FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT A
BRING TO GOD YOUR BROKENNESS
Jn 9:1-41
MESSAGE
As Jesus and his disciples were out on a stroll, they found a blind man. Immediately, the disciples tried to explain this handicap as a result of sin, either of the man’s parents or of himself. The Lord Jesus dismissed this generalization. When later, the Lord brought light to the blind man’s darkness, the Pharisees judged that Jesus was not from God, and that he too, was a sinner violating the Sabbath.
Our times are not much different from the era of the Lord. We too, are obsessed with the category of sin, and we easily impute sin on every human imperfection. This has made the world judgmental. Family members, neighbors, co-workers, church members, and others tend to look at each other with suspicion, trying to catch someone fall into sin. Once fallen, we criticize, ostracize, marginalize sinners and demand punishment.
This is not how Jesus sees us in our weakness, failures, and wrongdoing. Jesus sees not the sin but the brokenness in every person. Nobody is perfect, he knows that. Nobody is morally above the rest of humanity. Everybody has a pain he or she carries in life, whether obvious or hidden.
That is why Jesus does not come to judge left and right, although he has the power to do so. Instead, he heals the blind man, and the many other people he meets in the streets of Galilee. People are broken and he comes to restore, renew, and rebuild lives.
REFLECT
Many times, we are afraid to approach the sacrament of Reconciliation to confess our sins to the Lord, thinking that he will humiliate and punish us. Why not look at this sacrament as it truly is, the sacrament of spiritual healing that we all need to experience? Do not hesitate to approach the throne of mercy and receive the immense gift of love and healing this Lenten season.
