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MAY 25
BLIND CERTAINTY
“So for the second time they (the Pharisees) called the man who had been
blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a
sinner.’ He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do
know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he
do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I have told you
already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do
you also want to become his disciples?’ Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You
are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken
to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’” (Jn
9: 24-29)
Jesus has done something entirely new; something unheard of. “Never
since the world began,” notes the healed man, “has it been heard that
anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.” (Jn 9: 32) This is why
the Pharisees refuse to recognize Christ and His healing: In Christ, God
is revealing Himself to them in new ways, thus challenging what they
think they “know.” They think they “know” Him. And this imagined
“knowledge” blinds them to God’s surprises. It also effectively replaces
God in their world, leading them to become judges of Him: “We know,”
they proclaim with certainty, “that this man is a sinner.”
Today let me beware of such certainty, which can blind me to God’s
surprises. I am “born blind,” – with a spiritual blindness in need of His light
and His vision. Left to my own devices and my own judgment, I become
incapable of change; I become incapable of following the One Who calls
me to ever-new change, saying: “Metanoeite!” (Repent!) Today let me be
enlightened and led by Him, amidst any situations, responsibilities, and
people He sends my way.
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