4th Sunday Lent A - Homily 5

Homily 5 - 2020

Today’s Gospel passage started, As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked hims, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?”

It is the sort of question that often arises spontaneously from an experience of unexpected suffering, either our own or that of others; and often times the questioning seems to come from an assumption that God is somehow behind it, punishing the sufferer, either justly or unjustly. [I have been holding my breath in recent days, half-expecting some religious leader to interpret the present coronavirus pandemic as God’s punishment on some aspect of the world’s immorality or lack of faith.]

Jesus immediately challenged the disciples’ assumption. There is no automatic connection between suffering and punishment. The God whom Jesus revealed was not a punishing God but a merciful, saving God — a God who loves. We struggle to understand love at any time [as children struggle to understand their parents’ love]. No wonder we struggle to comprehend God’s love! We also struggle to explain satisfactorily the “why” of suffering in our world.

St Paul wrote in his letter to the believers in Rome, “God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him” — “all things”, including suffering. Paul realised that God has an enormous respect, too, for human freedom. It is those who have come to know God who more easily trust God, and who most freely give God room to move within them. Yet, whether recognised or not, God is already present within everyone, silently inviting and empowering to deeper life and greater love.

Our creating and sustaining God is present and at work in our world right now; and it is fascinating to search for the signs of that presence. Along with the obvious suffering, disruption and fear occasioned by the corona virus, so too a lot of good things are happening. Across our world, scientists are working tirelessly to produce an effective vaccine to counteract the virus. Nations are cooperating more, sharing their professional expertise and their practical experience. Within our own borders, federal and state politicians are working together. Medical and nursing staff and emergency service personnel are on standby. As happened so beautifully during and after the recent bushfire emergencies, ordinary people are standing together, reaching out to each other, sensitive and responsive to people’s needs.

During any pandemic, a necessary way of caring for ourselves is to care for others. The better we can prevent or protect others from becoming infected by the virus, the less chance we have of becoming infected ourselves. A particular characteristic of this virus is that a person can be infected before being conscious of its presence or showing any symptoms for a number of days. During that period they can quite unconsciously contaminate whatever they touch and spread the disease to others. The more everyone can avoid physically engaging with others, the safer everyone is. This partial self-isolating will feel most unusual, and may well result in any number of unexpected personal and community stresses and challenges. The more we can be sensitive to how others are coping, and make allowances, the more helpful we can be.

Fortunately, not everyone who contracts the virus will die from it. It is, however, particularly dangerous for the elderly and those with preexisting medical conditions. As a caring community, we need to be especially protective of those at risk in our midst.

At times like this, our shared faith becomes most practical. That we “love our neighbour” becomes particularly imperative. The more we become alert to the signs of our God present and active in our world, the more we shall feel strengthened and motivated to help others. We can then validate from our own experience the conviction of Paul: “God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him.”