Homily Two for the Sunday of the Blind Man
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
“One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).
- The answer of the blind man, who received sight by the command of Christ God, to the Pharisees. -
The present Sunday, beloved brothers and sisters, is called in the Church tradition the Sunday of the Blind Man, because today it is appointed to read from the Gospel of John the sacred account concerning the miraculous healing by Jesus Christ of a man blind from birth. The miracle of healing took place thus: the Lord spat on the ground, made clay from the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said to him: "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam," which means: sent. He went and washed, and came back seeing (John 9:6–7). Some of the eyewitnesses of this most glorious miracle glorified the Lord and believed in Him; among those who believed was first of all the former blind man himself, while others, especially the Pharisees, hated Jesus Christ even more, slandering Him, as though He performed miracles by demonic power, although a demon never yet healed a single person from blindness, nor can it; for his dominion is for a time the dominion of death and evil, and not the dominion of life and mercy.
Concerning this Pharisaic blindness of soul, this hatred and envy of theirs, the Lord spoke a wise saying to all people: “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind” (John 9:39); this means that people simple, guileless, and sincere might believe in Him, the true Light enlightening every man, and in the Savior of sinners; while people cunning, proud, self-conceited, envious, and lovers of gain would remain in miserable unbelief and add greater malice to malice, envy to envy, hypocrisy to hypocrisy, flattery to flattery, darkness to darkness, madness to madness, murder to murder.
And indeed, sincere, simple, good people, such as the fishermen who later became apostles, such as the Roman centurion, Jairus, Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea, the Myrrhbearing women, and many others, believed in Him, received sight in soul, and changed for the better; but the cunning and proud, the lovers of gain, such as the Pharisees, Judas, the chief priests and elders of the Jews, despite their learning and their seemingly clear sight, became blind, darker than the darkest ignorant people from among the populace; for they did not wish to see the Sun of righteousness, Christ the Son of God, and considered Him a mere man, one possessed by demons, and His teaching unworthy of attention, and thus became even worse, more evil, more cunning.
What was the cause of such terrible blindness of soul in them? Their passions, their vices. They were physically sighted, but spiritually blind — blind by their own will — and because of this blindness, because of these passions, and because of their impenitence and unbelief, they destroyed their souls forever and ever; for there is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved except the name of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 4:12), and it was in Him that they did not believe. “He who does not believe,” says the Lord, “is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only-Begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).
But are all of us, brothers and sisters, sighted, or are we all spiritually blind? We cannot call ourselves completely blind; we see a little, insofar as we believe in Jesus Christ, possess a humble way of thinking, and practice prayer and good deeds; but neither can we call ourselves completely sighted, because sins and passions continually, every day, blind us — every sin in us is blindness, and spiritual blindness. Anger blinds the soul of the angry man; envy blinds the soul of the envious; money blinds the soul of the lover of silver; wine blinds the drunkard; gluttony blinds the greedy eater; pride blinds the proud man; lust blinds the sensual man; and outward appearance blinds the one who places a person’s worth in external beauty and not in internal beauty — in a word, every man is blinded in every way by the sin living in his heart.
And therefore among us there is an innumerable multitude of the blind, blind in soul. Bodily blindness is temporary, just as the body is temporary, but spiritual blindness is eternal, just as the soul is eternal, if in this life the spiritually blind man does not himself take care to receive sight through repentance and virtue, especially almsgiving and humility. The one blinded in the eyes of the soul, that is, the unrepentant sinner, shall not behold God, shall be rejected by God, and shall go into eternal torment, into outer darkness.
Therefore hasten all of you to receive sight with the eyes of the heart through repentance and almsgiving. Blind in the eyes of the soul, brothers and sisters, let us also care somewhat for our brothers and sisters blind in body. You know that there are many blind among our fellow brothers and sisters in our fatherland, and in the neighboring capital there is a charitable institution where they freely treat the blind or teach them handicrafts, reading, singing, and various arts possible for the blind; it is maintained by voluntary offerings from compatriots. Help therefore, brothers and sisters, according to your strength, by your offerings to this institution.
Behold, the person entrusted by this institution will appeal to you for your donations. In the name of Christ the Savior, the Healer of the blind, and in the name of Christian brotherhood, do not refuse the good deed, each according to his strength contributing some small coin. May the Lord place obedience and mercy in your heart, and may He bless your offerings from above. May His grace be with you. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
