We might say, "so what? Who cares? Big deal." Well to a Jew of first century Palestine it was a big deal. Being put out of the synagogue meant becoming a social and religious outcast and that was no fun. But because of this man's relationship with Jesus he was able to deal with that suffering successfully. I thank god every day for the people I have been blessed to know in my life who have followed in this gentleman's footsteps, people who have grown in their relationship with Jesus Christ to such an extent that they are not overcome even in the midst of the greatest tragedies of life. I think of my mother who endured emotional and physical abuse as a child and has endured cancer as an adult. I think of my father who dealt with cancer for a year before it eventually killed him. I think of my grandmother who dealt with the loss of 3 of her 4 children, and who endured tremendous physical pain during her last years on this earth. I think of the many holy people in my ministry as a priest that I have come in contact with; people like the walking and talking Greek dictionary over there in the rectory. People like them and the man in this story have shown me that the most 'important things in life are not the physical healings we may experience. Those are wonderful when they happen, and sometimes they do, praise god. But they are not what is most important. What is most important are the works we allow god to do in our hearts through the gift of faith. Because you know in the end when all is said and done and our eyes are closed forever to this world, that is all that will matter

(Fourth Sunday of Lent (A): This reflection was given on March 13, 1999 at Medium Security Compound, ACI, Cranston, R.I. edited for prison use by Francis Valliere, written by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read John 9:1-41)

One Letter Makes a Big Difference!

What an incredible difference one single letter of the alphabet makes. And what a treasury of wisdom that one letter can uncover. Through prior prayer and post-meditation, Divine Truth is revealed to us through the Scriptures. And meditation will normally disclose the deeper truth -- something beyond the obvious -- something beyond the normal senses. Here, in John's Gospel, we encounter the incident of the healing of the man born blind. As Jesus passed by He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him why this man had been born blind. Was it something he did himself, or was it something his parents did during their lives that caused this to happen? Jesus tells them that it was neither. He says, "it was no sin, either of this man or of his parents. Rather, it was to let God's works show forth in him." Now on the surface, one would think that God's works referred to the blind man's physical healing-- PERIOD. That for some reason God had allowed this man to be born blind so that he could perform this great work in him and give him perfect, healthy 20/20 vision. But the problem is that the word "works" ends in an S, which means the word is plural. And that fact makes a big difference. (Now; since the new testament was written in Greek and not in English, it's always a good idea, under these circumstances, to find out what the original Greek says. The word in Greek is "erga": -- which is also plural and the ordinary Greek word for works.) Now what this all means is that the blind man's physical healing was only one of the "works" that the Lord accomplished in his life and on this particular occasion. But it was not the only work He accomplished, nor was it the most important work He accomplished. The most important thing that happened to the blind man in this story was not the cure of his physical illness, as great and as wonderful and as spectacular as that was. The greatest thing, the greatest work of God that he experienced in this scene concerned something that happened to him on the inside: he came to know Jesus Christ in a personal way. In other words, he received the gift of faith, as we heard in the story; and the gift became stronger and stronger as time went on, even in the midst of suffering and persecution. That is why I would say that the most important line in the whole story comes at the very end, when this man says to Jesus, "Lord, I do believe in you."

Now I don't mean to imply in all this that the blind man's physical healing was not important. But the thing is, as miraculous as it was, the gift of sight that Jesus gave to him on this occasion was something that was only temporary. His sight may have been 20/20 for the rest of his earthly life, but this could not and did not last forever. Somewhere along the line the blind man died. We don't know how, but we know that somehow, in some way, at some point, it happened. We all know the old saying, "There are no guaranties in life but two; we all die and we all pay taxes!" He may have died in a battle with the Romans, or of cancer or a heart attack or of some other physical disease. But die he did, and so his perfect sight didn't last.

But you see, what happened to him on the inside -- his spiritual healing -- that great work of God -- did not have to be temporary. When Jesus gave him the gift of faith, that gift was meant to last throughout his life; to grow stronger and stronger during his life; and to bear fruit into eternity. And from all the indications that we see in this passage, that is exactly what happened. Notice how his faith, even in it's early stages of development (which is what we see in this scene), affected this man in positive ways. First of all it gave him a new vision of God, and a new self-image. I have no doubt that before he met Jesus this man thought that he was worth very little in God's eyes. And like the disciples, he probably believed that his blindness was a punishment from the Lord for something that he or one of his family members had done; but all that changed after he met Jesus and came to embrace Him as his Messiah and Savior. His faith enabled him to see God as someone who loved him and cared about him. This enabled him to see himself as precious and valuable.

His faith also gave him the ability to see the truth-and the courage and strength to profess it, even in the midst of suffering and opposition. When the Pharisees ask him, "What do you have to say about Jesus?', he answers without any hesitation, "He is a Prophet." Now, in case you missed it, that statement did not endear him to the Pharisees. I am sure that they were not looking at him with love in their eyes. But the man said it anyway. He believed it, and so he professed it -- respectfully and clearly.

Transport this man through time and drop him into 1999 -- what a great role model he would be for our generation; where two of the most frequently heard lines are, "I am personally opposed to it, but…" and "I'm a Catholic, but….." I think if this man were alive today he would say to us, "If you're a Catholic, if your faith places you in opposition to some evil -- any evil -- then get off your butt." "If you believe it, then in love speak like you believe it, and act like you believe it, like I did, or at least have the courage to admit that you don't really believe it."

Just Wednesday evening I was speaking with an inmate about living out his faith as a true disciple, and witnessing to his other fellow inmates the love and peace and comfort that Christ freely gives to those who follow Him. He said, "Fran, I hear what you are saying, but it has been extremely difficult to even act like a Christian in this place. The other day I was told to take my WWJD bracelet off and put it back in my cell. It tore me apart to do that; and when I took it off I felt like I betrayed Jesus and betrayed my faith! It brought tears to my eyes; and when the C.O. (Corrections Officer) saw me he said, "Why are you so upset about a little bracelet?" I said, "Because it is part of my faith; a faith I felt I betrayed." "The C.O. eventually admitted that he was just "playin' with me" and so he allowed me to put it back on my wrist." Now, I don't adhere to disobedience and would advise against it. That's what Jesus would do. But I also know how much these little symbols of our faith mean; not only to this inmate but also to others. But it was through this inmate that I saw the blind man of our story. This inmates faith challenging the faith of the C.O. who didn't understand; much like the Pharisees who didn't understand.

Now, the blind man's faith gave him the ability to deal with his suffering and rejection by the Pharisees. And how important it is to be able to deal with suffering and pain and ridicule and rejection, because those realities affect every human person. No one is exempt; no one is immune. We are told here that when this man publicly professed his faith in Jesus and refused to agree with the Pharisees, they promptly booted him out of the synagogue. Now from our perspective we might say, "So what? Who cares? Big deal." Well to a Jew of first century Palestine; that was a big deal. Being put out of the synagogue meant becoming a social and religious outcast and that was no fun. But because of this man's relationship with Jesus he was able to deal with that suffering successfully.

I thank God every day for the people I have been blessed to know in my life who have followed in the blind man's footsteps, people who have grown in their relationship with Jesus Christ to such an extent that they are not overcome even in the midst of the greatest tragedies of life. I think of my mother who endured emotional abuse as the wife of an active alcoholic and then endured the pains of cancer the last three years of her life. I remember being at her bedside two nights before she died. She said that all the suffering she had incurred throughout her illness she had offered up and joined with Jesus' suffering for the salvation of the souls of her husband and her three sons. This woman didn't flinch an eye in the light of her suffering nor turn her back on her faith in despair. I think of a young daughter defending her faith in the midst of ridicule and rejection; a youthful eighth grader who courageously stood up for her Pro Life beliefs while riding on the bus to school.  A youngster who was willing to be mocked and outcast by her peers; (rejection and ridicule at the hands of young Catholic girls, mind you); As her dad, I am humbled and moved by her steadfast faith.  What a witness!!   I also think of a friend whose present faith is stronger than ever; a friend whose son was murdered, his daughter died two years later of Leukemia, and whose wife just recently died in an auto accident. A friend who has lost his entire family to tragedies but whose faith is strong enough for him to say, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, Blessed be the Lord!!!"

I think of the many holy people with whom I've come in contact; people like my spiritual director of the last 10 years and my soul-mate, my wife of 25 years. People like them and the blind man in this story who have shown me that the most important things in life are not necessarily the physical healings. Those are wonderful when they happen, and sometimes they do, praise God.  But no, they aren't the most important. What is most important are the works we allow God to do in our hearts through the gift of faith. Spiritual healings that free us from the worst sufferings; sufferings that come from slavery to sin. Because you know in the end, when all is said and done and our eyes are closed forever to this world, that is all that will matter.

I'll close with a quote from Jesus Himself. In [Matthew 17:20] Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."