Photo by Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A)
Some years ago, I taught Algebra I in Catholic school in New Orleans, mostly 9th and 10th graders. I distinctly remember at least one time trying to teach a new lesson. When I finished the material, I asked if anyone had any questions. A few hands went up. “What did you not understand?,” I asked. “Um, everything?” they can’t say exactly what. “Okay,” I said. “Let’s try that again. If at any point I lose you, let me know. If you don’t get what I’m saying, stop me.” I went through the entire lesson once more. No hands went up while I was speaking. And when I finished, I asked the question again. The same hands go up, and maybe a few more, those who weren’t sure they weren’t sure the first time. “What exactly did you not understand?” “Um, everything?” … again. Gaahhh! So I go through the lesson a third time, emphasizing important parts by raising my volume and pointing insistently to things on the board, stopping at each step, asking if everyone understood before I went on. When I was done, I asked again. And again, the same hands go up. Suddenly, a stroke of genius. I tried something new. I asked who among them DID understand the new material. They were getting bored, the smart ones, wanting to move on. A few hands go up. “Get up here and explain to your classmates the lesson as you understand it.” One student repeats the lesson, using practically the same explanation I gave. When he was done, I asked the question. “Now we get it,” they tell me. How is that possible? He did exactly what I had done.
Let’s face it. It is a mystery that some people get it and some don’t. Those of you who are parents or teachers might be able to relate. You say something over and over, slowly and carefully, you look into their eyes, you plead and you beg, you ask them to repeat what you just said, and you know you’re still not getting through, the lights aren’t coming on upstairs. Still nobody home. “What exactly don’t you understand,” you ask? They can’t tell you, they just don’t know. Now it can be just as frustrating with adults as it is with young people. But somehow you can let young people get away with it. You were young once, and you know what it’s like. Maybe with a little more time and experience, they will understand. You might even remember when the things your parents tried so hard to tell you finally did begin to make sense. All of a sudden your eyes were opened and that obstruction dissolves into air. You may have actually even said the words, “Mom, dad, you were right.” Almost knocked them over. But when you’re dealing with grown-ups, it’s not always as easy to tell the difference between the involuntary inability to understand and the stubborn willful resistance to truth. All of a sudden we can see what Jesus was trying to tell the Pharisees. “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.”
The Pharisees were intent on bringing him down because according to them, Jesus did something not permitted on the Sabbath. There’s the law. He acted contrary to it. He should be held accountable. All this because a man born blind cannot explain how he now is able to see. They question him, they question his parents. My theory: one solution forces the stubborn people to rethink their position about Jesus, the values he stood for, what he wanted to accomplish, and why they had to change. The other solution was much simpler. The stubborn people are allowed to hold on to their position, and Jesus, his values, his teaching, his example, are nicely put away, and everyone can just go back to whatever they were doing. This is definitely a much neater solution to the problem. Except that there’s still the mystery of the blind man who now can see. So they come up with their own explanation. He wasn’t the man they thought was blind. But his parents said he was their son and he was blind from birth. They don’t know what they are talking about. Then this Jesus gave him sight. No, he didn’t, he couldn’t have, he broke the law, he is a sinner. Now if the blind man wasn’t really blind and Jesus didn’t really heal him, then he didn’t break the law. Okay, now you’re beginning to annoy us. You’re a sinner and you have nothing to teach us. Go home.
Take any burning issue, your burning issue – abortion, contraception, drugs, alcohol, marriage, infidelity, divorce, homosexuality, promiscuity, partisan politics, violence, crime, war, abuse, rape, poverty, homelessness, hunger, healthcare, immigration, unemployment, pornography, prejudice, discrimination, racism, sexism, ageism, atheism, religious extremism, clericalism, crisis in church leadership, education, illiteracy, animal cruelty, neglect, medical malpractice, stealing, lying, cheating, gambling, money laundering, tax evasion, insider trading, environmentalism, commercialism, consumerism, capitalism, greed, socialism, communism, judicial activism, militarism … what did I miss? Take any burning issue. Just one, we don’t have all day. Now ask yourself honestly, “What is the most important principle underlying this issue? Hospitality, injustice, truth, human dignity, Christian charity? And what does the Gospel have to say to YOU about this issue? NOT what does the Gospel have to say to your neighbor? If the values, teachings, or example of Jesus challenge you to radically change something about your thinking, your choices, your behavior, or your lifestyle, that is where you have been blind. If you are willing to see once again, if you are willing to have your eyes opened, it will come at great cost and your life will be turned upside-down, like the blind man in the gospel. But if you choose to resist, like the Pharisees, if you insist that you can see fine and do not need to be healed of your blindness, it is because you are comfortable with your thinking, your values, your behavior, and your lifestyle, and would much rather someone else do the changing and transforming. “I’m fine the way I am,” you tell Jesus. “Leave me alone.” “If you were blind, you would have no sin,” Jesus tells the Pharisees. “But now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.”
Any questions? Anything you want me to go over just one more time? And don’t shoot the messenger. Jesus is the one who gives us the power to see with our eyes, and to see even deeper with our hearts. But first we have be willing to admit that we are blind.
Rolo B Castillo © 2025