jesus
Let not the sins and wounds of our past define us. Let Jesus do something new in us.
In today’s Gospel account from John, many people gathered around Jesus in the temple area and were sitting and listening to him, when a horrific display of human wickedness breaks in as, “the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle” (Jn 8:3).
This act of depravity is worse if we spend any time thinking about this verse. This was a calculated plan hatched by the scribes and Pharisees. They had been watching this woman for the opportune time to break in and catch her, using their own words of accusation, in “the very act of committing adultery” (Jn 8:4). If they were this calculated and malicious, they would not have probably even given her the opportunity to put her clothes on.
The shame that this woman must have had to endure as she was dragged openly and publicly through the streets was made worse because they brought her to the temple area. The temple was where people came to give sacrifice to atone for their sins and to worship God. What was worse was that the dehumanization of this woman most likely had nothing to do with bringing her to repentance, but had all to do with demeaning her for their own twisted ends to trap Jesus.
The Pharisees and scribes hatched this plot just to trap Jesus in what they believed was a fool proof way to bring charges against him. If Jesus did not follow the law of Moses and condemn her to be stoned, he could be charged for speaking out against the Mosaic law. If he did condemn her, he then could be charged by Roman law. Only the Roman authorities could institute the death penalty.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger (Jn 8:6). With this action, Jesus could have been buying some time to think over his response. He could have just been showing an attitude of indifference toward the charges presented. The truth is, we don’t know what Jesus wrote in the dirt that day. St. Jerome proposed that he was writing the sins of those gathered around him as they were waiting for his judgment. Another interesting speculation is that Jesus was again showing his foundation in the prophetic tradition.
Jesus could have been quoting the prophet Jeremiah: “O LORD… all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water” (Jeremiah 17:13, RSV). Jesus had just shared a few verses earlier that anyone who believed in him : “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37, RSV). Those who came to trap Jesus could have found themselves getting caught in the trap instead and receiving God’s judgement for their forsaking God present before them in His Son (Pitre).
Whatever Jesus wrote had an effect and allowed for the pregnant pause before Jesus spoke: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7). Jesus returned to writing in the dirt, allowing for another pregnant pause. One by one, starting with the elders, the accusers, and even those who had gathered to listen to Jesus that morning, all walked away.
Jesus stood a second time only to find the woman standing before him. This is the first time he addressed her: “Has no one condemned you?” She replied with three simple words, “No one, sir.” And Jesus replied, “Neither do I condemn you.” Jesus did not seek to inflict any more shame on this woman and forgave her. Nor did he dismiss the sin. In Jewish law, there needed to be two witnesses to condemn someone of a capital crime. There was no witness left to do so. Jesus chose not to condemn her but also stated clearly, “Go, and from now on do not sin any more” (Jn 8:8-11)
Jesus and the woman looked eye to eye in the temple area, a stone’s throw away from the Mercy Seat of God. Jesus met this woman surrounded in her sin, shame, and anguish and met her with mercy and forgiveness. He cleansed the temple precincts of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes who had darkened the area that day and his forgiveness purified this woman from the stain of her sin. This was no cheap grace. Jesus did convict the woman of her sin, but did so in a way that respected her dignity, unlike those who hauled her out publicly to humiliate her for their own malicious purposes. Jesus convicted her in private, once everyone had gone.
In forgiving her with love and mercy, I can imagine, that she, who had been dragged through the streets, not only experiencing the humiliation, but fearing that her death was imminent, then walked away from her encounter with Jesus crying. Crying not just with tears of relief, but with tears of joy. Could the words of Isaiah have come to her mind then, “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see I am doing something new” (Isaiah 43: 18-19). This woman having drunk from the “stream of living water” walked away born again, a new creature, transformed by the purifying love of God.
This account embodies the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We bring our sins, contrition, fears, and are to be met with the loving mercy and forgiveness of Jesus in the priest. Not so that we can then just go out to do whatever we want to again, but with his help, to go and sin no more. To not only be forgiven, but to also receive the grace to help us to resist temptation, to heal, and through participating in the life in Jesus, walk with him along the way to restore the glory we have lost.
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Painting: May we experience and share the same mercy and forgiveness.
Dr. Brant Pitre, Catholic Productions
Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 23, 2026
“For Jesus, it was more important to conquer death than to cure disease.”
Martha, Mary, Jesus’ disciples, and anyone else who experienced the sickness of Lazarus wondered why Jesus did not go to be with his friend as soon as he received word that he was dying. Jesus had healed and restored so many, why would he delay? Many of us who have experienced the death or in this moment may be accompanying a loved one in their final days and hours, may have asked or may be asking the same thing. Why is Jesus allowing this to happen? Why do so many have to suffer? Why the delay?
Jesus responded to the disciples’ inquiry by saying, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (Jn 11:4). Not sure if Jesus’ response would have helped me if I was among the crowd. Many of us have experienced the death of our family and friends, as did Martha and Mary. What is Jesus up to?
Does Jesus care? Does this Gospel speak to us today? Yes. At the height of the Covid pandemic back in March of 2020, I remember being quarantined at home still on oxygen and watching Pope Francis come out on the steps of St. Peter at the Vatican in the dark and rain and said, Jesus, “more than anyone, cares about us.” Just as Jesus wept when he witnessed the anguish of Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, he also imagined the anguish of one of his closest friends sick and dying. So he wept and weeps with us in our present challenges, trials, and pain. Still he did not come until four days later. Why?
We may wonder in hearing or reading this account where Jesus is in the midst of our struggles at times, may wonder where he was in past challenges. There is good news here. Jesus had a plan for Lazarus and he has one for us. We need to have the same faith as Martha. Though she did not understand why Jesus had not come sooner, she trusted in him. Martha responded to Jesus when he asked he if she believed that he was the resurrection and the life and she responded: “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God” (John 11:27). Just as Jesus was present to Martha, he is present and among us as well. But why the delay?
St. Peter Chrysologos offers a great response to that question, “for Christ, it was more important to conquer death than to cure disease. He showed his love for his friend not by healing him but by calling him back from the grave. Instead of a remedy for his illness, he offered him the glory of rising from the dead.” Jesus followed the lead of his Father to help those who were closest to him to understand that the reign of sin and death was over. Jesus came to usher in a new creation.
I believe Jesus conquered death and it has helped me with my deepest loss. Jesus did not cure my wife, JoAnn, from pancreatic cancer, and yet, it is my hope that he conquered her death, reached out to JoAnn, and led her home to the Father so that she may now be experiencing “the glory of rising from the dead.” But I am getting ahead of myself.
Jesus brought back Jairus’ daughter from the dead as well as the widow of Nain’s only son. The difference between each of them and Lazarus, was they were raised fairly soon after their death within even the same day or days. Lazarus had been dead for four days. Ancient Jews, unlike the ancient Egyptians, did not embalm the dead. By the fourth day, Lazarus’ body would have begun to decompose. In Jesus calling him back to life, and Lazarus rising, the effects of the decomposition were reversed and he walked out of the tomb on his own power, even while still wrapped in his burial cloths.
We need to resist just a complacent passing over of this incredible miracle that Jesus performed. This was beyond anything that anyone had ever experienced, and why, “many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him” (John 11:45). Without diminishing the wonder of this event, it was only a forecast of the miracle of miracles to come and why the Church in her wisdom placed this account on the fifth Sunday of Lent. This is but a foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Lazarus rose in a miraculous way but would die again. Jesus died, conquered death, and rose again never to die again. He was willing to do so for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, so they could rise with him on the last day and have their souls be reunited with their bodies. The good news for us reading these words at this moment is that Jesus did the same for us today!
The key take away from the story of Lazarus is that no matter how wonderful the raising of Lazarus, a dead man four days in a tomb, was, it was just a foreshadowing of the truly incredible miracle of miracles we are about to celebrate in just a few weeks. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead himself was no mere resuscitation as with Lazarus. Jesus experienced the fullness of death and conquered it becoming the firstborn of the new creation. Jesus would later ascend into heaven and from the right hand of his Father, he would send us the Holy Spirit.
This is why we never need doubt that we are not alone ever, and especially in times of our deepest suffering. Jesus cares and accompanies us in each of our present situations as well as our unhealed traumas of the past. When we weep we can remember, “Jesus wept” also. Why? To teach us that it is ok to weep. Our tears remind us that we are human and that when we have lost a loved one, even if now we know death doesn’t have the final answer, there is a loss none the less.
We will live on, and just as if we experienced an amputation, our living without those that have died will never be the same. As we put our faith in the One who cares for us and loves us more than we can imagine, we will draw closer to him and to each other, we will see the glory of God at work in each of our lives, we will heal, and we will overcome and emerge stronger than before. Our healing happens when we too believe in Jesus the Christ the Son of God.
Our hope in this life is that we are invited to write our final chapter not here but in the new creation to come. “On the last day, Christ will call us forth from our graves as our friend, if we’ve lived in friendship with him. And he will command us as our Lord, the one who made the heavens and the earth, to come out of the tomb and to experience the resurrection of the dead, the new creation, and the life of the world to come” (Dr. Brant Pitre).
Photo: Each time we see the altar, we are reminded that Jesus died for us and conquered death so that death no longer has the final answer, Jesus the first born of the new creation does.
Pitre, Brant. Catholicproductions.com
Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, March 22, 2026
Do we reject or trust in and follow Jesus?
Jesus is recorded, a few verses before (cf. 7:37-39) today’s Gospel, speaking about quenching the thirst of those gathered around to listen to him. The thirst he is talking about fulfilling is spiritual thirst, that thirst which we all desire to be refreshed by, that which we have been created to receive; the thirst to belong, to be in communion, to be loved and to love in return. A thirst that is satiated in experience the truth that we are never alone as long as we remember that God is our Father. God cares for and is present to us in all our needs.
Jesus speaks of coming to those who thirst to be refreshed with: “Rivers of living water [that] will flow from within” (Jn 7:38). Jesus spoke of the day when he would send the Holy Spirit to well up from within the soul of each person who would follow him. All who participate in the life of Jesus would come to experience also the love shared between God the Father and God the Son, who is God the Holy Spirit.
Some who heard Jesus speaking in this way were deeply moved, they believed him to be the Prophet, others believed him to be the Messiah. Yet, there were those who could not see past their own preconceived notions. They heard his teaching, may have even been moved as well but said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he” (Jn 7:41)? Remember Nathaniel’s first reaction when Philip had told him that they had found the Messiah? Nathaniel asked if anything good could come out of Nazareth (cf. Jn 43-47). Jesus was also rejected by many in his hometown of Nazareth! He was just a simple tekton, a carpenter or a day laborer.
Why the region of Galilee, the town of Nazareth itself, would be disparaged is a matter of speculation. Those Pharisees that were not believing in Jesus, sought a scriptural basis that the Messiah would not come from Galilee but from Bethlehem, the house and line of David. They would state that, “No prophet arises from Galilee” (John 7:52). Although, Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 coming from Gath-he’pher, which is in the lower region of Galilee.
The fact was that there were those, unlike Nathaniel, that could not see past their initial prejudices. Even though Jesus spoke and taught with authority, even though the Temple guards who were sent to arrest him said, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man” (Jn 7:46), and even when Nicodemus spoke out rationally, requesting they hear Jesus out in accordance with the Law, (Deut 19:15-19), allow for an investigation, and give him the opportunity to make his case, they could or would not hear Jesus. They closed themselves off to the invitation to receive the gift of the love of God that Jesus offered. Their charge was that he was not from Bethlehem, he was not of the line of David, case closed.
Our ingrained, prejudicial attitudes and our limitations of thought can prevent us from seeing as God sees. If we are not willing to follow Jesus’ invitation to repent, we run the risk of cutting ourselves off from the living water Jesus provides and so become like a stagnant pool. Many of our daily routines, habits, livelihoods, health, and very lives can be shaken in an instant with unexpected news. A catastrophic medical diagnosis, layoff, weather event, the consequences of a sinful choice can come crashing down. We can react out of fear and feel debilitated on one hand or with the other we can brashly deny the reality of the situation. Aristotle wrote that virtue is the means between two extremes. Courage is the means between being paralyzed with fear and excessive reckless abandon.
We can face head on what arises, feel what emotions come, offer them to and place our trust in the Jesus. I have had a few experiences with unexpected news. I have done much better when I have leaned on Jesus and trusted in him. In doing so, I have not only survived the external storms and internal storms of anxiety, I have gone through them feeling his presence. In relying on Jesus and less on my own strength, I experienced his peace and grew from the challenges. In times of trial, we can also be tempted by the question: Does Jesus care, why would he do this to me, or does he even exist?
The words of Pope Francis in his Ubi et Orbi message at the height of Covid are still helpful. He said that Jesus, “more than anyone, cares about us.” Jesus cares. His hand is held out before us. We can reject it or receive it, the choice is ours. Jesus is the source of living water, he is the eye in the midst of any storm, he is the light leading us through the darkness. When we choose to breathe more and react less, we will be more likely to recognize and accept the offer of Jesus’ hand as Peter did when he was sinking in the storm at sea. By taking his hand and allowing him to lead us, we will act with more prudence, be more present and mindful, and better prepared to face any challenge.
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Photo: Blessed to be back at SVDP Regional Seminary Chapel where I was blessed to spend many holy hours and Masses getting to know Jesus and learning to be and serve as his priest.
Learn, grow, and inform, not convince.
Jesus affirms who he is and whose he is in today’s Gospel of John. There were those who did not believe that he was the Messiah, but even those who were beginning to move in that direction, there was a deeper identity. Jesus continued to make his point very clear: “I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me” (Jn 7:28-29). Jesus is the Son of God made man and he belongs to the One who sent him, God the Father.
As Jesus was challenged in his time, he continues to be challenged today. That level of challenge has increased even to the degree that his human existence is even dismissed in some circles as a mere legend. Even as a historical figure, some speculate that Jesus did not walk the roads of Galilee and Judea as recorded in today’s Gospel. This need not be a reason for alarm. Though it is a reason to know our Tradition, the deposit of faith that has been preserved and passed on from Jesus to his Apostles and disciples, and to those early Church Fathers and Mothers named and unnamed, and passed on up to us to this day in an unbroken apostolic succession.
It is important that we also know the Bible, not in an academic sense alone, not just to quote chapter and verse, but how to read and receive the living word of God in its proper context, and as well as to meditate and pray and ponder what we hear proclaimed at Mass as well as what we read privately. Sacred Scripture is the Word of God expressed in human language, as presented in the Vatican II document, Dei Verbum, (Word of God).
Knowing Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture helps us to better understand what we believe, who we believe in, and whose we belong to. In this way, when we are challenged, we do not need to stoop into a defensive crouch, but instead listen to the person’s points, their critiques, and ask questions of what they believe and why they believe what they believe. We can defend our position while at the same time being open to understanding where our questioners are coming from. We can then respond with the truth, just as Jesus did, with an open mind and heart of surrender to allow the Holy Spirit to be present and speak through us.
When we are anxious, defensive, argumentative, seeking to be right, or fearing to be wrong, we limit what Jesus can do through us. God is not about numbers and quotas, he is about building relationships, one person at a time. It is more important to build relationships than to win arguments. We can learn much from St. Bernadette of Soubirous who when challenged regarding the validity of her experiences and encounters with Mary responded, “My job is to inform, not convince.”
Lent is a good time to learn, grow, pray, seek and offer forgiveness, and heal. All of which helps us to continue to grow in our intimacy with Jesus. As our journey continues, let us trust Jesus more and share our experiences of him with others. We are all on this journey of seeking the True, the Good, and the Beautiful together. It is important to respect and love those who have differing perspectives outside of and even within the Church, be open to the reality that we can learn from each other, and allow God to guide each of us through our common challenges and step by faithful step grow closer to God and one another.
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Photo: James Tissot Nantes – “Jesus Teaches the People by the Sea.”
Discerning or feeling stressed about a decision, maybe time for a nap.
Who do we want to be? It is so easy to get caught up in being busy, taking care of children, the home, school assignments, work, as well as a myriad of other activities that each of us, experiencing our unique vocational state in life, can add to the list. These can all be good things, but we can lose ourselves in our business and responsibilities as well as how we define ourselves, such that we slip into a state of survival mode or merely existing. One day can move into one week, into one month, into one year, and then we wake up one morning and wonder where the last ten years have gone!
We can fall into the trap of being defined by what we do instead of who we are and who God is calling us to be. We may have heard or be told at some point in our lives, “Don’t just sit there, do something.” God has another way of presenting us this statement: “Don’t just do something, sit there, and let me do something in you.” God has a plan for each one of us with the end result being eternal communion with him in heaven. Living a life of holiness and becoming saints is who God seeks each of us to be. We need to remind ourselves of this from time to time, by assessing where we are now and if we are listening to the guidance of God.
Our Gospel account from Matthew today gives us an opportunity to see holiness in action. Joseph has become aware that Mary, his betrothed, is with child and he is not the Father. Pass the Pepto Bismol please… Joseph, “a righteous man” follows the law, but is “unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly” (Mt 1:19). Joseph’s life of righteousness pulls him to follow the law, yet he shows that discernment in matters of the dignity of the person is just as important. Joseph not only was unwilling to make Mary into a public spectacle but was also unwilling to allow the possibility of her to be stoned to death.
Joseph pondered the idea of divorcing her quietly. Before he made his final decision, Joseph slept on the matter, which is often a good course of action when weighing heavy issues or dealing with stressful conflict. How many times do we rush into decisions only to regret them later? Joseph receives God’s direction through the angel of the Lord in a dream.
When Joseph awoke in the morning, he did not dig in his heels feeling that he knew best, that he knew better than Gabriel, and return to his original decision. Joseph did not let fear or anxiety about the possible scenarios that were running through his mind regarding what others may say or think sway him, nor did the possible and real difficulties he could envision deter him.
Joseph trusted God. With confidence and assurance of who he was and what God called him to do, Joseph acted on the guidance he had received without hesitation.
St. Joseph is a model for us. When faced with decisions to make, we need to remember who we are, whose we are, and who we are called to be. We are children of God, and that means we belong to God who loves and cares for us. He has a plan and each thought, decision and action we follow through on is a step in diverting from or fulfilling that plan.
There are many elements in good discernment, gathering information, ponder the reasonable options, praying and seeking God’s guidance, slowing down to breathe and think, seeking guidance from a trusted family member or friend, reading, praying, meditating with the Bible, his creation, being open to Godincidents, or a good nap or early to bed. Joseph followed some of the above and had the humility to listen to God’s messenger and he granted him not only the guidance he sought but the support to fulfill the commission he received. God will do the same as we discern his direction too.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Painting: Closeup of Rembrandt’s “Dream of St. Joseph”
Jesus knew he was when challenged, do we?
In today’s account from John, Jesus responded to the criticism that he received from healing the man at the pool of Bethesda. The issue for those who were incensed was that he healed on the Sabbath, and he did not help his case any when he justified himself by saying that he was directed to do so by his Father: “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes” (Jn 5:21). Jesus did not make concessions with those who opposed him.
He clearly stated the truth about who he is, the Son of God, the Lord of the Sabbath. For those not believing Jesus, that he said that he is equal with God… this is blasphemy of the highest order. This is one of the reasons they plot to kill him.
So too in our own age, there are many ways to express our understanding and belief about who Jesus was in his time and who he is still today. If you haven’t thought about Jesus beyond his name in a while, about who he really is and why he is relevant to our lives, then allow St. Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, who lived from 297 to 373 AD, to offer a point to ponder today.
St. Athanasius held firmly to and taught with conviction that, Jesus is, “the Son of God [who] became man so that we might become God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 480). We cannot be saved on our own merits, through our own will power, and discipline alone. Jesus can save us particularly because in what he assumes as fully human, he is able to redeem as fully divine.
The reality that the second Person of the Holy Trinity, was sent through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit to enter the womb of Mary and take on flesh, became one with us in our humanity by becoming also human, so that we can become one with him in his divinity, is something worth meditating and praying about. There is much writing and discussion about how many people are leaving the Church, while at the same time their hunger still remains. I would say starving, for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. This is true for those who leave as well as those who remain, whether either could or would articulate it in that way.
Could it be that we have forgotten the foundation of our faith, which is participating in and deepening our relationship with Jesus?
The words of St. Athanasius, “The Son of God became man so that we might become God.” Are words that will help us to remember who and whose we are, beloved daughters and sons of God. They are words that might help us to remember our meaning and purpose in life. They are words that might help us to stretch a little more from our comfort zones, to risk being who we are, and to trust God to walk with us in places where we are need of healing and reconciliation. Hopefully, they are words that help us to slow down and spend some time with Jesus and get to know him a little better.
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Photo: Quiet walk on the way to celebrate Mass.
With Jesus no one is last.
Has there ever been a time when you were picked last for the team, whether on the playground, P.E., or gym class? I remember being on both sides, being picked last, and picking others to join and having to pick someone last. I preferred being chosen last rather than having to be in the situation to choose a classmate last. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus comes upon a man who has experienced an even worse situation.
This man had been in need of healing for thirty-eight years. Apparently, there was a limited time to get into the waters of the pool at Bethesda to experience the healing properties that it afforded, for each time the water stirred, while the man moved to get closer to and enter the water, “someone else [got] down there before” him. This is worse than getting picked last, as he doesn’t in a sense even make the team!
But with Jesus, the last shall become first. Key ingredients are belief, faith, as we heard in yesterday’s account and also along with belief and faith, is there a willingness to be healed. Jesus asks the sick man, “Do you want to be well?” When the man in need of healing explains the limitations he has experienced in the past regarding getting to the pool, Jesus does not hesitate. Jesus commands him to rise, pick up his mat and walk. The man is no longer the one picked over, the one ignored, the one unseen. The sick man encounters Jesus and is healed by his word.
Jesus approaches us in the same way that he encountered the sick man by the pool of Bethesda in today’s Gospel. He meets us in our need, where we are, no matter our station in life. He does not leave us on the outside looking in, he does not leave us wondering if we are loved or if we belong. He comes close and if we are willing, to forgive, heal, and empower us to be about the mission given to us by his Father. Jesus gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Each and every one of us is a gift from God, a beloved daughter or son, and we have been graced with something to contribute, something unique to help make the kingdom of God a reality.
May we enter a place of silence and stillness, without and within. Breathe intentional and slow, settle into a rhytm with no or little distractions, breathe in deep and exhale a few times more, one deep breath for each person of the Trinity, and then close our eyes. How do we see ourselves in our present moment, what is happening, what are we experiencing? As we take a few more breathes, notice Jesus walking toward us.
Jesus is present, right here and right now, for each of us if we are willing to be still long enough to engage with him. There are no boundaries, no limitations, only those we impose on ourselves. We are no longer misunderstood, left out, or picked last. Jesus has come close to be with us in this moment, to embrace us, and help us to really know that we are loved, heard, and we belong in the kingdom of God.
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Painting:”Do you want to be well?” If yes, then continue to breathe, receive, rest, and abide in God’s love.
Jesus has come to heal and help to transform our minds and our hearts.
We hear often in the Gospels how those who believed in Jesus received healings, exorcisms, and were forgiven of their sins. We have also read accounts such as from the Gospel of Matthew that he “did not work many mighty deeds” in Nazareth “because of their lack of faith” (Mt 13:58).
In today’s Gospel account from John, Jesus speaks to a royal official whose son is close to death. Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left (Jn 4:50). On his way home to his son the man is met by the slaves from his household and they told him that his son would live and when they compared notes, they realized the healing occurred at the moment Jesus spoke and the man believed.
What do faith and belief have to do with Jesus being active in our lives? The way of the Gospel, the good news, is all about invitation and acceptance. Jesus enters our world, our reality, and he comes to each one of us intentionally, gently, and humbly. He came as a poor infant, completely dependent on Mary and Joseph for his very survival. He lived the majority of his life in the obscure village of Nazareth most likely working as a day laborer. When he began his public ministry he did so by inviting people to be a part of his life, to enter into a relationship with him and his Father. People are free to say, “no”, or to say, “yes”, to that invitation.
Faith is trusting that what Jesus says, is true, and that he is who he says he is. Belief is the act of our will that aligns with our faith, our trust in him. Jesus invited the man to believe that his son was healed and the man believed. He walked away with full confidence that his son would be healed. Belief is followed by an affirmative act of the will. I can believe my car will run, but unless I get in it and turn the key, I am not going anywhere.
This miracle was not just for the man and his son. As with each miracle, Jesus is teaching a lesson to those present. The preliminary statement to the people of Galilee is, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe” (John 4:48). This was a challenge to the man and to those present. The father believed Jesus and went on his way. Did the people who were seeking signs believe as the father did? Because this father did, his son was healed.
Jesus is fully human and fully divine. He has come to show us the promise of the life his and our Father wants to give to us. Jesus, the first born of the new creation, is collaborating with his Father: “To set right a world that has gone wrong” (Barron, 92). Jesus comes into our lives each day to show us a new way, a better way. Are we willing to let go of our defense mechanisms, our comfort zones, stepping out of daily survival mode and instead walk the path of this new way with Jesus? Do we believe, as did this man seeking a healing for his son?
Just as the sun rises each day, Jesus comes to us to set our minds and our hearts on the right path, toward our forgiveness, healing, and freedom. Just as Jesus was present for this man and his son, he is present to each of us as our divine healer, teacher, and savior. We experience that truth the more we believe in and choose to seek his help and guidance with each thought, word, and deed and in every situation. May we trust in Jesus with everything, may we thank him for everything, and when we sin, let us seek his forgiveness and begin again.
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Painting: Jesus meets us where we are and as we are to provide healing for ourselves and those we intercede for.
Barron, Bishop Robert. Lenten Gospel Reflections. Word on Fire, 2020.
Are we willing to stay with Jesus as did the woman at the well and the man born blind?
As with last week, when the Samaritan women encounters Jesus, we again see this week an account of a transformation with the man born blind from birth. In both cases, neither are seeking Jesus or a healing, Jesus waits for the woman at the well and sees the man as he “passed by”. Both are open to encounter Jesus and are willing to be led by him. For the man born blind, Jesus, spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” (Jn 9:6-7).
To us, this would appear to be a bizarre way to heal. Imagine going into the optometrist and as he is checking an eye ailment and he says wait a minute, I have just what you need. He takes out bowl of dirt, spits profusely and begins to make some mud. How long are you going to remain in the chair?
In Jewish tradition, and found recorded in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the account was that God when forming Adam out of the earth, also spit into the earth. The moisture needed to kneed the dry earth. Those knowing this account would have understood what Jesus was doing here. He was acting as God did in the creation of the first man. He was forming a new man, to be part of a new creation (Pitre).
Jesus also helps our modern sensibilities by asking the man to wash his face in the “Pool of Siloam”, he was healed and his sight was restored. He then returned to his neighbors and they noticed that not only was he no longer begging but that he could see. They then asked him how this came to be and the man shared about his encounter with this man who healed him. Because of this miracle, they then brought him before the Pharisees.
Because this healing happened on the Sabbath, they wanted to understand what had happened with this man and although the man did not name Jesus, because he did not know who he was, the Pharisees suspected if not outright knew. This was not the first healing on the Sabbath. Some were hoping to gather information to make a case against Jesus. Unfortunately for them, this man would only share that Jesus healed him, confirm that he was born blind, and wonderfully the man asked if they would like to be Jesus’ disciples!
When he was thrown out by the Pharisees. Now ostracized for being healed and telling the truth, he was alone. Jesus came to him again, and as the conversation deepened, as with the woman at the well, his faith as with her’s grew. He first believed Jesus to be just a man, then he presented him as a prophet, and came to believe that he was sent by God, he was the Son of Man, and finally proclaimed him as Lord!
Would that we could have the same healing of our spiritual blindness as the man did with his physical that opened him up to his spiritual healing, such that we could see the depth of our own hunger deep within for God and the needs of those around us. Are we able to see Jesus as this man born blind or do we see him as some of the Pharisees, in a distorted way based on our own places within ourselves that are wounded and/or hardened and callused?
Allowing Jesus to come close will help us to regain a greater appreciation for him and each other. We will recognize how fragile our lives really are when we let down our guard, and place our trust not in our own self-reliance, but in Jesus. In facing our fears, even of death, resisting to run away or deny the fear, but instead embrace our feasr with Jesus, we will come out on the other side freed from those feats and appreciating the gift of our humanity.
In allowing ourselves to encounter Jesus, may we be willing to allow him to remind us of who and whose we are. We are beloved daughters and sons, baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We belong to our loving God and Father. This is the foundational truth of our identity. Nothing can shake that truth as long as we allow ourselves to savor and allow that reality to move from our minds, to our hearts, and acknowledge it in the very depth of our souls. This truth helps us to realize that death does not have the final answer and we need not fear even death.
The man born blind was grateful for the gift of receiving his sight, so much so that he came to believe and worship the one who healed him. When we allow ourselves some time with Jesus, may we grow more deeply committed to living as his disciple, be freed from our fears, and experience the love of God in such a way that we know him and breathe, receive, rest, and abide in who we are.
Photo: Jesus is the light of the world and whoever follows him will have the light of life.
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