Homily Chinese Sun. March 3rd.

The Samaritan woman at the well of last Sunday did not have a name because she in a certain sense symbolizes all of us and our thirst. Not only the physical thirst for water, but most so, the deeper thirst for goodness and eventually for God that we have in the depths of our heart.

The man who was born blind is also a symbol in our spiritual quest. The restoration of his physical sight culminates in the spiritual insight, which we call “faith” the gift that enables us to see the invisible.

Symbolism

1. Water: not only quenches thirst as in last Sunday’s Gospel with the Samaritan woman. Water heals.

2. Siloam pool: The City of Jerusalem built on mount Zion, is naturally defensible from almost all sides, but suffers from the drawback that its major source of fresh water, the Gihon spring is outside the city walls, on the side of the cliff, leaving the city without a fresh water supply in case of siege.

The Bible records that King Hezekiah (680 BC), blocked the spring's water outside the city and diverted it through a channel into the Pool of Siloam which means “sent” the water are sent into the city.

3. Spittle: why did Jesus spit?

Spittle evokes in us feelings of dirt, germs, unwholesome. The Gospels record three times Jesus spiting to heal people.

Why did He not just heal these three people, as He did all the others, without spittle?

In the days of Jesus, the Jewish people believed spittle had healing properties.
 
Journey of the faith:

The healing of the man is bot physical and spiritual. Jesus heals both his body and his soul. The blind man discovers little by little, step by step, who Jesus is.

- In the beginning, for the blind man, Jesus is no more than a man. "The man called Jesus made clay …"
- Later, he was asked, "What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He responded, "He is a prophet." He has taken a step forward; he has understood that Jesus is sent from God.
- Finally, finding Jesus again, he exclaims, "I do believe Lord," and he bows before him to worship him, thus openly recognizing him as his Lord and God.

Narrating this story in his Gospel, John wanted to signify that our spiritual eyes, those of faith, begin to open up in baptism. .

In describing this healing with so much detail, it is as if John invites us to ask ourselves the question: "And me? In what point am I on this path? Who is Jesus of Nazareth for me?"

We have to be patient with ourselves and others: we have time to grow. We too have in front of us a long journey which was begun when we were baptized. After so many years most probably we have slowed down a bit and we can apply to ourselves what Jesus said to the Christians of Ladicea:

“For you say, 'I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,' and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire  so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. “ Rev. 3, 18.

What the psychologist Gustav Jung wrote can rightly be applied to us: “who looks outside thinks that he is seeing, in reality is day-dreaming. Who looks inside, wakes!”

In our case more than blind we are shortsighted. We move in a state of slumber: neither sleeping nor fully awake.

We do believe in God, but in Christ? We admire Him, but do we follow him? Christ has many admirers nowadays, but very few followers.

At times we are afraid of the future, worried and regretful about our past. What we need is to open our eyes. We will discover that: a.The gold necklace that we desire so much is already around our neck. We don’t need to desire, to ask or to beg, only to thank God for the many blessings bestowed on us.
b. The snake on our path that scares us so much is in reality a dead branch.  No need to be afraid.