Sixth Sunday after Pascha. Sunday of the Man Born Blind, Octoechos Tone 5; The Holy Apostle Carpus, One of the Seventy Disciples
Read
Acts 16:16-34; John 9:1-38
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
The man born blind was able to see in two ways. Firstly, the Lord healed his eyesight, an infirmity which he had from the day he was born. Secondly, the man was able to see (recognize) that Jesus was not some prophet but the promised Messiah. All of this so “that the works of God might be made manifest in him.”
How often has each of us come to the Lord and asked for some infirmity to be healed, some aspect of our lives to be radically changed? How often have we come to Him in prayer and asked for a greater outpouring of His grace in our lives? For some, even after this prayer nothing happens. Prayer is not just asking the Lord for things to happen in our lives. Prayer is opening ourselves up to know the mind of God. Added to this is something we learn from the healed blind man—obedience.
In today’s world, obedience is seen firstly as some authority figure forcing his/her will upon a person or people to which he/she/they must comply. Perhaps this is a view of misuse of authority. In true obedience, there is a will, and there is a submission. We often forget about the submission part in today’s world. We see the blind man willingly submit himself to the Lord. He allowed the Lord to apply a paste made of dirt and His spittle to his eyes and followed the command to go to the pool of Siloam and wash (something quite easily done). And even after he received the gift of sight, he willingly sat through the “court” with the Pharisees so “that the works of God might be made manifest in him.” Further, because of faith and obedience, he was brought to that moment of realization—The Lord, the Messiah, is here before me—and professed the great gift of faith.
Perhaps today we could each renew our obedience to the Lord.
mw