Strange things happen among us, people.
Something good can be done for someone and the person who benefits from the good deed is penalized for it!
It should not surprise us – this is what happened already in the time of Jesus.
We see it in today’s gospel on this 4th Sunday of Lent, Year A (Jn.9:1-41).
Jesus has cured a man who had been born blind and the religious leaders give this fortunate man – (or, unfortunate?) –
a hard time indeed.
Questions upon questions to him, to his parents, back to him again – evidently trying to find Jesus somehow guilty.
Unable to have the man say anything that would enable them to reach such a verdict, “They drove him away…”
They cannot SEE the good.
They cannot accept the evidence.
They push aside what is plain and clear.
They cannot face the truth.
They blind themselves in the most obvious way.
Why? Why such an attitude? What this kind of reaction?
But the next question is… Can this not be found in… us?
We may ‘drive away’ a memory… too painful to face.
We may ‘drive away’ a remark… unpleasant to acknowledge.
We may ‘drive away’ a warning… that would call for a decision.
We may ‘drive away’ a piece of advice… that would ask for a change of attitude.
We may ‘drive away’ some information… that invites me to do something.
So, we do as if the truth were not the truth!
We may fell afraid, ashamed, incompetent, powerful, not equal to a situation.
So, we hide, we pretend, we escape.
We literally ‘drive away’ what is plain to SEE but which threatens us.
LENT may be precisely that: the time to make special efforts to SEE.
And to pray for, yes, vision AND insight!