2.03.2008 - 4th Sunday of Lent - year A
First Reading I Sam 16,1.4.6-7.10-13 Psalm 23 Second Reading Eph 5,8-14
Gospel Reading John 9,1-41

Much can be said about God's creation, about mankind, about the angels and spirits and the relationships between them and, above all, about the reason why God created everything. What moved God and what does he expect from his creation? Man with his intelligence and freedom can modify creation and develop it and discover more and more possibilities. We need only think of the scientific and technological progress of recent years. We could almost say that there is no end to God's creation and that that is how it was intended to be. So the question becomes more impellent: "what moved God the Father to create the world and what does he expect of his creation?" The answer to this question is important for us to know how to join forces with him and help his creation develop. If we are not moved by the same motivation and if we do not expect the same thing as he does, we will introduce a sort of schizophrenia, a contrast between man and the environment he lives in. If we believe God is love, we can see that he cannot have been moved by anything other than love in creating the universe. "For all existing things are dear to you and you hate nothing that you have created, why else would you have made it?" (Wisdom 11,24). "Once the hand is opened by the key of love, the creatures came to the light" says St Thomas of Aquinas. God delivers all of creation to man: as is said in the bible. His plan, therefore, is man and all the rest is for him and for his evolution! For this reason we continue to praise and thank God for his creatures. Man has been created in the image and likeness of God! This shows us the beauty and greatness and humility of God's love, a love that is manifest and communicates: God wants man to become divine, the Father wants us with him as his children! God expects us to be as his children and to live in the world filling it with the love he gave us through his son Jesus!

"Man looks at appearances, the Lord looks into the heart". With these words God shows the prophet the reason for man's mistakes. And these are the mistakes we make every day. And that is why we should judge no-one, not even when we see them do evil. True discernment should not be used to judge, but only to defend ourselves from evil and perhaps, to help our brothers and sisters overcome temptation. The Lord looks into our hearts! Only the Lord sees people and things in their true light. We are blind! If we do not see the world as God sees it, we are blind. The miracle Jesus did in Jerusalem persuades us of this: we are blind unless he himself opens our eyes.
The man born blind represents us all. What does it mean to be born blind? It means not to be able to recognise the faces of anyone, not to be able to walk freely or see the way or the obstacles, not to know what is clean and what is dirty and not to realise that we dirty all we touch, to eat or drink poison without knowing, to always be in danger and in need of help. So, we are all blind. We need others to show us the way, to tell us when our hands are dirty, to warn us about what is poisonous or healthy for our hearts and minds.
The blind man obeys Jesus and goes to wash in the pool. When he returns he can see, he recognises the others, he can find his way and defend himself, he can help others. What is that water that washes away not only mud, but also blindness from eyes? It is baptismal water! Whoever unites with Jesus in love for the Father and to bring the Holy Spirit to the world, he sees others as people to love, he recognises good from bad and has the same criteria as the Son of God.
"Awake sleeper, arise from the dead and Christ will shine upon you" says St Paul, "Once you were in darkness, now you are light": learn to judge for yourselves what is pleasing to the Lord; take no part in the barren deeds of darkness, but show them up for what they are!" Illumined by the light of Jesus we can collaborate with him so that the world will turn towards the Father with deeds of true peace and love! So even if we are excluded and chased away, we will be full of joy all the same for we are bearers of the Spirit of God!

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