Not As Man Sees Does God See

Gospel Reflection for March 15, 2026, Laetare Sunday - John 9:1-41

1 And Jesus passing by, saw a man, who was blind from his birth:

2 And his disciples asked him: Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?

3 Jesus answered: Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

4 I must work the works of him that sent me, whilst it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

6 When he had said these things, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and spread the clay on his eyes,

7 And said to him: Go, wash in the pool of Siloe, which is interpreted, Sent. He went therefore, and washed, and he came seeing.

8 The neighbours therefore, and they who had seen him before that he was a beggar, said: Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said: This is he.

9 But others said: No, but he is like him. But he said: I am he.

10 They said therefore to him: How were thy eyes opened?

11 He answered: That man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me: Go to the pool of Siloe, and wash. And I went, I washed, and I see.

12 And they said to him: Where is he? He saith: I know not.

13 They bring him that had been blind to the Pharisees.

14 Now it was the sabbath, when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

15 Again therefore the Pharisees asked him, how he had received his sight. But he said to them: He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and I see.

16 Some therefore of the Pharisees said: This man is not of God, who keepeth not the sabbath. But others said: How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

17 They say therefore to the blind man again: What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes? And he said: He is a prophet.

18 The Jews then did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight,

19 And asked them, saying: Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth he now see?

20 His parents answered them, and said: We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:

21 But how he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: ask himself: he is of age, let him speak for himself.

22 These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had already agreed among themselves, that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

23 Therefore did his parents say: He is of age, ask himself.

24 They therefore called the man again that had been blind, and said to him: Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.

25 He said therefore to them: If he be a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.

26 They said then to him: What did he to thee? How did he open thy eyes?

27 He answered them: I have told you already, and you have heard: why would you hear it again? will you also become his disciples?

28 They reviled him therefore, and said: Be thou his disciple; but we are the disciples of Moses.

29 We know that God spoke to Moses: but as to this man, we know not from whence he is.

30 The man answered, and said to them: Why, herein is a wonderful thing, that you know not from whence he is, and he hath opened my eyes.

31 Now we know that God doth not hear sinners: but if a man be a server of God, and doth his will, him he heareth.

32 From the beginning of the world it hath not been heard, that any man hath opened the eyes of one born blind.

33 Unless this man were of God, he could not do any thing.

34 They answered, and said to him: Thou wast wholly born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out: and when he had found him, he said to him: Dost thou believe in the Son of God?

36 He answered, and said: Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?

37 And Jesus said to him: Thou hast both seen him; and it is he that talketh with thee.

38 And he said: I believe, Lord. And falling down, he adored him.

39 And Jesus said: For judgment I am come into this world; that they who see not, may see; and they who see, may become blind.

40 And some of the Pharisees, who were with him, heard: and they said unto him: Are we also blind?

41 Jesus said to them: If you were blind, you should not have sin: but now you say: We see. Your sin remaineth. (John 9:1-41 DRA)

One of the most profound statements in all of Scripture was spoken by God in the first reading:

Not as man sees does God see,

because man sees the appearance

but the LORD looks into the heart.

Our Lord also taught this to His apostles: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge just judgment.” (Jn 7:24) Of course, it’s true that we cannot look into the heart like God, but we can still try to imitate Him and not make snap judgments or assumptions from appearance alone.

This is often emphasized today, in an incorrect way according to the spirit of “inclusion” and DEI, where one is not supposed to make any judgments about someone based on their appearance or exclude them from any job or position; but Christ specifically told His apostles to “judge just judgment”, i.e. to judge fairly, not to make no judgment at all. Since we cannot read people’s minds or hearts, we have to judge at least partially based on their appearance and behavior, even while remaining open to the possibility of exceptions.

It can also be emphasized in a correct way, according to God’s important distinction between mere appearance and the truth of the heart. Some, like the other sons of Jesse, might look more impressive – taller, more athletic, more attractive, wearing more expensive or fashionable clothes, with all the latest gadgets, displaying supreme confidence and ease in social situations – and yet be farther from God, while others who are humbler in stature, including those with disabilities, obesity, deformities, social awkwardness and anxiety, poverty, etc., may be closer to Him in their heart. But even this can be exaggerated: wealth, fitness and other appearances beloved by society are not guarantees of sinfulness, just as poverty, infirmity or other ‘inequities’ are not guarantees of holiness, nor is any race, nationality or biological sex.

While the correct form of the modern emphasis, on judging fairly without assumptions based on appearance, is certainly the primary intention behind God’s words in the first reading, the Epistle and Gospel also reveal a deeper sense to them. The true meaning of ‘sight’ or ‘vision’ is a key theme in Scripture and Tradition. Just as human marriage is a sacramental sign of the marriage betwixt Christ and His Church, and human fatherhood is a sacramental sign of the divine Fatherhood of God, so the sight of bodily vision, receiving material light in the eyes and perceptively interpreting it by the internal senses in the brain, is a sacramental sign of spiritual vision.

The Pharisees who disputed the words of the man born blind (named in tradition as Celidonius) and who accused Our Lord of serving Satan rather than God are not simply those who do not see. Christ explicitly said that they do see – and yet, they do not. It is possible to see with the eyes but not perceive what you see; likewise, it is possible to see – to know – with the mind but not to perceive – to understand, to believe and to love – with the heart. This is why faith alone is insufficient; faith without works is dead. If faith have not charity, it is lifeless.

The corrupt Pharisees knew the Scriptures better than anyone and therefore should have recognized Christ as the Messiah; but it was left to those born blind, to the ignorant like the apostles, to Samaritans like the woman at the well last week and even to pagan Gentiles to believe in Him, to serve Him and to love Him. The same remains true for us today: it is good and important to know the teachings of the Church, the Scriptures, the Fathers and saints, the liturgy and devotions, etc., especially when they are all so easily accessible to us now. But simply knowing all of this is not enough; Satan knows all of this but believes none of it and even hates it. He has no faith, no hope, no charity. In the same way, many Christians today who claim, like the Pharisees, to be God’s greatest servants are interiorly blind to His truth and their hearts are hardened to His love.

St. Paul in the Epistle made an important point in this regard:

Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;

rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention

the things done by them in secret;

but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,

for everything that becomes visible is light.

How many of us actually follow this today? Modern media – radio, movies, TV, internet, social media, pop music – make it exceptionally difficult, more than ever before in history, and “the fruitless works of darkness,” those things which “it is shameful even to mention” that are “done by them in secret” are forced on us from every side, as the recent Epstein files scandal demonstrates. Even children today see and hear things that were unknown even by most adults in the past, hearing every form of vulgarity, seeing pornography disguised as ‘romance,’ with half-naked people paraded in front of them at school, in public and even, tragically, at Mass, subjected to every temptation and taught that virtue is simply hypocrisy, repression and superstition.

But this is what God calls us to in the readings today and especially during this holy season of Lent: to be holy and set apart from all worldliness, not to reject what is good but to order it always to God, not only to correct but also to shield ourselves from exposure to evil, to live in the light. This Laetare Sunday, let us imitate the man born blind by trusting in Christ and allowing Him to open our eyes so that we may see His light, expose the works of darkness all around us today and never succumb to them. By doing so, we can become lights to the world, rejoicing in the great gift of divine light given to us in Christ, the Light of the World. A refrain from the Dominican bluegrass band the Hillbilly Thomists comes to mind:

But if you stand in the light no dark will dawn

No sword will shatter the armor that you put on

The rock underneath you won’t fall for lies

With your feet firmly planted

Standin’ in the light

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