As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.’ John 9:1-3

I have written several reflections on this gospel story in my blog. I have been doing this for ten years. Therefore, it is important to go back and check to make sure that I am not repeating myself. They say old people tend to repeat themselves. I don’t consider myself old but I am getting older. I want to make sure that I am not acting old. Some of you might understand. I have noticed in my previous reflections that I always focused on the healing. It is hard to do anything else besides this. After all, it seems to be the main thrust of the whole story. However, this time I noticed the overwhelming number of questions in this story. The whole episode begins and ends with them. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to just reflect on this aspect.

It started with the disciples. They asked an important question which has been asked in different manners; “Who is to be blamed for all the injustice in this world?” Whenever something bad happens in the streets, the first thing our children do is to try to be figure out who is responsible. Most of the time, the blame falls on the victim. As cruel as it sounds, we find comfort in blaming the victim not because we are callous or unsympathetic. To the contrary, deep down in our souls, we identify with the victims. Therefore, we want to differentiate ourselves from them so that we can convince ourselves with the fiction that no mishaps nor dangers will befall us. Victim blaming gives us a false sense of security that we can protect ourselves from the troubles of this world if we toe the line. The disciples wanted to know why the blind man was different from them. Jesus gave them an answer to look beyond the problem. It may not be a satisfactory answer for many. Superficially, it may seem like Jesus is blaming God for making anyone suffer. However, this is far from the truth. He is inviting us to not look at people who suffer as a problem but He invites us to discover the mystery of who God is through their suffering.

If blindness was the problem, then the healing did nothing to solve it. In fact, it made it worse. Hitherto the blind man was considered a person to be pitied but now he became a subject of controversy and disdain to the religious authorities. His family even refused to take his side for fear of reprisal. The religious authority now considered him as a threat to their opposition against Jesus. Apart from this, this man also lost his identity among the people. He was known as the blind beggar. Now, the people no longer recognized him as such. The opening of his eyes revealed that the rest of society had a very limited vision of him. They just saw a blind man and nothing more. It could even be argued that they would have liked it if he remained as such. They found it disturbing that he was now healed. We see this in our reality. Often times, we see people give to help the homeless. Churches will come in droves to serve a meal. However, the thousands of people living in the streets is a social problem. No one appears to be interested in dealing these issues. Sometimes they are against measures that might deal with it. In reality, most people are not interested in healing the social disease. They are just interested in doing things which bring them some sort of personal gratification. However, the gospel is a message of healing.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? Matthew 7:21-22

Personally, I think that the Pharisees were right in questioning the blind man. I don’t believe that we have the monopoly of religious charlatans in our age. False prophets were abundant in ancient times too and it was necessary to examine whoever claimed anything in the name of God. I believe that we could benefit by following in the footsteps of the Pharisees in this matter. The Truth is given to us but it should not be assumed that everyone who claims to speak the Truth is from God. The problem was that the Pharisees were only interested in opposing Jesus. They questioned the blind man to mount up arguments against Jesus. This is the problem and not questioning. Those of us of the Protestant tradition cannot forego the value of questioning. Our tradition comes into existence because a monk questioned the church’s doctrines on indulgence. We can never discern the truth from the abundant lies in the world if we do not question. The disciples discovered illness is not a curse from God by questioning the popular notion that physical illness and disability were a curse due to one’s sin. The American Civil Movement wouldn’t have been possible if no one had challenged and questioned what was considered as social norms. We can never recognize the Truth if we do not question what is presented before us. Unfortunately, the Pharisees were not interested in discovering the Truth. They were blinded by their hatred. This is the problem.

Questioning in itself is not going to bring about wisdom. We need to be open to receiving it. We have to be spiritually open in order for questions to guide us into the path of discovering the Truth. Sometimes spiritual openness might happen intentionally and sometimes it might be something which happens without one realizing it. A friend of mine became a Christian because he questioned certain philosophical concepts while doing his Master’s in Philosophy. His questions led him to discover deep truths which his soul was seeking.

When our questions leads us to the Truth, we will be grasped by it in an undeniable manner. It will transform our lives. However, nothing of this sort will happen if we are not open to it. Besides this, we cannot control where it comes from. The Pharisees were not interested in this. They did not feel a need to receive anything from anyone, much less a formerly blind beggar. Consequently, they remained in their own blindness.

They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out. John 9:34

Every day we pass by a group of street preachers who are always yelling even when the things they say should be spoken in a calm and loving manner. I usually just ignore them. This time, I decided that I should put in practice what I just wrote. I should not discard them just because I disagree with their methods. I listened. They did not say anything that was not true. Maybe one or two things were exaggerated for dramatic effect. Besides these, nothing was polemical. However, it did not move me nor hold my interest. I moved on. We met someone from our past; a person who worked with the homeless before. He spouted out heaps of compliments which were full of good intentions but they did not move us. Then some of the children who are third generation homeless children came up to us. These are really young children, most of them under five. They were with their grandmother. Usually, we prefer the company of the older children and teens. We can actually talk with them. These children have limited conversational skills which consist of random words and puzzled looks. We thought and hoped that they would lose interest in us and move on to something more exciting. Instead, they stayed with us for the whole period we were in the streets. Even though we were more keen to talk to the others, these children did captivate our hearts. They smiled when I saw them trying to color the pictures. They did a disastrous job but they didn’t care. They wanted to do it in our presence. It would be easy to just overlook this moment and it would have been a mistake. These tiny children were giving us a gift. They were showing us that our presence has not gone unnoticed in their lives. They could have been with anyone in the streets. There were others closer to their age group and most likely more fun. They chose us because they were spiritually available. They saw something different and responded in doing something creative with us. They wanted to produce something together with us.

These children helped me see in a concrete manner what happens in our souls when we are confronted with the Truth. It makes us creative; not necessarily in an artistic manner. More so in the way of doing something which creates bonds of eternal love. Being spiritual available is looking for opportunities to create fruits of love in this world. It is not just about questions but it is about discovering how to produce true fruits of love in this world. It is good thing we did not disregard these tiny children this week.

Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?’ John 4:6-11

There are several reasons why Jesus shouldn’t have spoken to this woman. The most obvious is that she was a woman and one of dubious repute at that. Jesus did not need any special ability to discern this. She came at a time to draw water when there was hardly anyone around. Collecting water was a social activity for women during that period. This woman was obviously a persona non grata among her peers. Besides this, she was a Samaritan. Jesus wasn’t immune to the prejudices of his time. None of us are innately prejudiced. These ideas are subtly instilled in us. Jesus grew up exposed to all the things which society threw at him. He, like the rest of us, had to confront these ingrained prejudices. This woman, on the other hand, had accepted her marginalized role in society and did not expect anyone to confab with her. However, Jesus broke all the societal norms. He spoke to her but only for one simple reason. He was tired and thirsty and she had water. He did not make an excuse to talk to her. He genuinely needed something from her and wasn’t going to allow any conventional obstacles to stop him from receiving help from her.

The woman wanted to make sure if Jesus knew who she was before receiving anything from her. She was convinced that Jesus wouldn’t want anything to do with her. This is where the conversation takes us on a captivating journey. It happened just because Jesus was willing to ask for help from someone society had shunned. It is worth spending a short moment on this before moving on.

When someone is marginalized, society sending a clear message to this person saying that he or she is irrelevant and has nothing to offer. The disciples were in a Samaritan village. It was the practice in those times for people to approach the homes in the particular village to ask for food and shelter even Jesus recommended this to his disciples. Usually, it was customary for people to be hospitable to strangers. This is still practiced in many parts of Asia today. However, the disciples were Jewish and they preferred to go elsewhere for food and water instead of receiving hospitality from a Samaritan. To do such a thing entails making oneself available for a relationship with the host. If we think about it, it is true for us wherever we are in our world. Our homeless children and teens love to help people. It is their chance to show their humanity. However, it has to be genuine. There are well intentioned people who think that it is a good idea to teach children and teens to become better people by giving them an “opportunity” to help. This almost immediately becomes something patronizing.

We have people in our society whom we just perceive as mere helpless and ignorant souls incapable of helping themselves. Usually we shower them with our good works. Unknowingly, our well intentioned actions can contribute to widening the rift between us and them. Instead, we have to ask ourselves whether these people have something concrete to offer to us. I don’t mean in a pragmatic manner. I mean in a deep spiritual manner. Jesus saw this woman and saw that she had something to offer to him. Initially it was just water and He could have stopped the conversation at that. However, our Lord wanted to move on to deeper waters.

The woman wasn’t sure if Jesus knew who she was but our Lord revealed to her that He knew all she had done in her life. These were probably all the things which disqualified her from participating in the social life of her community. In the streets, we often hear preachers doing this very same thing. They list all the things which disqualify people from being part of their religion. In a way, they are trying to shame people into the faith. We also encounter modern humanists who avoid talking about these things altogether. This attitude doesn’t help much. The woman was fully aware why she was marginalized. She thought that perhaps Jesus would have avoided her if He knew who she was. He did and wanted her to know this. Most importantly, He accepted her unconditionally. It is interesting that of all the Samaritans, Jesus chose this woman to be His disciple. In a way, she was His “apostle” to her people. It appears that Jesus always chose the most unlikely people to become His instruments in this world. Sometimes we forget this and adopt the world standards as God’s ways.

The origins of the Samaritans is a disputed subject. The Jewish people in Jesus’ time believed that they were not the pure people of Israel. They believed that the Samaritans had incorporated religious practices which were not aligned with the Law. Consequently, they were considered to be a threat to the pure religious faith of Judaism. The Jewish leaders found it was necessary to isolate the Samaritans because they feared their influence would corrupt the pure doctrines of Judaism. Jesus looked beyond doctrines and perceived that the Samaritans desired to worship the true and living God despite their ignorance. They responded to something deep in their souls. In the same manner, Jesus recognized that this woman spent her life searching for something to satisfy her soul. Jesus saw beyond her misgivings to understand the anguish in her soul. He did not condemn her like the rest of society. He did not believe that she was a bad influence to the rest of the world. He just wanted to give her the Living Water which she desired so much for her life.

The major difference between us and our homeless children is knowledge too. Our children are thrust into this world and forced to survive in it without any guidance nor orientation. We know how this world works and are adjusted to its norms and requirements. Our children are a little lost and do everything it takes to survive. Many times this violates the rules and regulations of proper conduct. Therefore, society considers them as a nuisance and a menace. Sometimes so-called well-adjusted people, like ourselves, tend to think that what our homeless youth need is to learn how to function in this world and everything will be fine. In other words, they have to submit to the requirements of accepted behavior. However, our children may not be interested in these things. Like the Samaritan woman, they have accepted that they will always be marginalized in this society. This is a notion that perhaps is hard for us to imagine. We can waste our time trying to convince them to find ways to integrate when they know that society does not need nor want them. The woman did not find her place in her society after her conversation with Jesus. She remained marginalized. However, she discovered the Living Water. Now, our children are always thirsty for this. If we stop focusing on the wrong things, we might realize that we too need to take a drink from this fountain. In this way, we are the same as our children. We need the living water as much as they do. However, Jesus never really explains exactly what He meant by it. The conversation switched to the subject of the Spirit. Perhaps, it did not. Maybe He just brought the conversation to a deeper place.

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:24

In Jesus’ time, the concept of God was very territorial. In modern times, this territorial God is even more restricted. He is confined within certain dominations or religions. We forget that Jesus taught us that God is Spirit and He belongs to no one and He is the God of everyone. He chooses to appear to those whom He pleases. Just because we are born in a Christian family or a middle class home, it doesn’t mean that we have a monopoly of God. He is not confined nor determined by our limitations. He is present wherever there are people who desire to know the true and living God and many among those whom society has deemed as unworthy like the Samaritan woman. Jesus chose her to be channel of His living water to her friends. Apparently, her friends were open to her despite her past and reputation. They recognized that God is Spirit. He is not restricted like we are.