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Taking
the Next Step
March
6, 2005 Homily
John
9:1-41
Fr.
George Smiga
This
is the second of three long narratives from the Gospel of
John, which the church assigns for these Sundays of Lent.
Like the one we heard last week, The Woman at the Well
, the length of these stories allows us to see development
in the characters who are in them. John uses these stories
to reveal to us what decisions we need to make if we wish
to encounter Christ.
In
today's gospel we hear that if we want to find Christ, we—like
the man born blind—must be willing to take the next step.
The gospel tells us that God has a plan for our lives, but
we do not see that plan all at once. The only way in which
that plan can unfold is if we are willing to take the next
step as God gives us the light to see it. Look at the man
in the gospel. He was blind from birth. What hope could he
ever have of being able to see? How easy it would have been
for him to wallow in self-pity and hopelessness. How easy
it would have been to pass by the next step that God wished
to give him. When Jesus said “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam,”
how easy it would have been for him to say, “Why? What difference
will it make? How can this change anything?” Refusing to comply
would be understandable, but the man born blind took the next
step. He went, he washed, and he came back able to see.
What
this gospel is telling us is that we must resist the temptation
to remain in self-pity and hopelessness. When a step to move
is offered to us, we must be willing to take it. We might
be convinced that we are unattractive and unlovable and we
will never find anyone with whom to share our life. We might
say, “What's the use of asking someone out to a movie or of
taking up the offer of a blind date?” But the gospel says
to us; if something is offered to you, take it. You might
find the love of your life. We might be searching for a job
for months without any success, but the gospel says God has
a plan, keep following up those leads. The next lead you choose
to follow could lead to a job that will give you satisfaction
for the rest of your life.
We
must be willing to take the next step, and we must be willing
to take it more than once. Again, look at the man in the gospel.
No sooner did he take the step that allowed him to see, than
another step was offered to him, a step for something more.
Now he could see physically, but, even before he could absorb
that miracle, he was offered a step to believe in Jesus, a
step that would allow him to discover the light of the world.
Through the debate with his neighbors and the Pharisees, he
was posed with a choice, a choice about Jesus. He was asked
to decide whether Jesus was a sinner or whether he was from
God. How easy it would have been for the man who was once
blind to sidestep such a decision. He was now able to see.
Was not that enough? Why should he risk for something more?
Why should he stick his neck out and risk offending the authorities
or his parents? He was able to see, surely there was nothing
more than that he needed. How easy it would have been for
him to remain blessing he had been given, rather than to reach
out for the next good thing God wanted to offer. But the man
in the gospel took the risk. He took the step. He accepted
Jesus as the one from God. Yes, he found himself in trouble,
but he came to see Christ as the light of the world. Had he
not taken that next step, he could have continued to see physically,
but he would never have seen eternally. For the rest of his
life, he could have seen the sky and the trees, but he would
not see the face of God.
The
gospel is telling us that even though we are satisfied, comfortable
with where we are now, God has a plan for our lives, and God
is calling us to more. It reminds us that life is about more
than playing it safe. When the next step is offered, we should
be willing to take it. God is calling us to new relationships,
to new abilities, to new possibilities. The future holds a
deeper relationship with God.
The
story of the man born blind is a powerful story, for it reminds
us that God has a plan for our life. But if we are ever to
see that plan, we must be willing to take the next step. Like
the man who was born blind, we must have the courage to step
out of self-pity and hopelessness. We must have the courage
to step out of comfort and the status quo. We are always free
to sit down where we are right now and say, “This is it. I
will go no further.” But the gospel warns against that stagnation.
It tells us that Jesus is leading us forward, inviting us
to move into the future. Jesus is calling us so that step
by step we may come to see him face to face.
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