\nMarch 22, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Light of the World<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAre the Chinese responsible\nfor the outbreak of the Coronavirus that is making such a stir and is\nbringing so much suffering and uncertainty? Or the governments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly\nthe disciples ask: \u201eWho is responsible for this man\u2019s blindness?\nIt can only be the result of sin? Is he guilty, or his parents?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\nis human and normal to ask the question, why did that happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nthe encounter with the man born blind, Jesus focuses not on the past,\nbot on the future. He is not blind, because\nsomething was<\/em>,\nbut that\nsomething happen<\/em>:\nso that healing take place, to show that whatever happens, God is\nwith us a God of the living, as light in the world. Jesus does not\npose the question of guilt, but of purpose and meaning: what meaning\ncan we find or bring into the situation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nis a an encouraging word and an invitation for us, when we feel\nunsettled in the face of risks to health or one\u2019s financial\nsituation? As he\nwas present to the man born blind, so he is with us in this uncertain\nsituation. Jesus gave the blind man bodily, but also, and even more,\nspiritual vision, let\nhim perceive God\u2019s intervention in history in recognizing Jesus as\na prophet. God\nwills to open our eyes, too, to see and create meaning in the present\nhappenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nnew corona sickness may\nbring suffering and various worries. Many have relatives who are\nparticularly at risk or are themselves at risk, some are out of a job\nor worry about keeping their job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nsickness and its spreading is however also an occasion to rethink\nvarious things, on the political level, such as globalization and the\nfoundation, but also with a vew to our daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nexperience and show much solidarity precisely in these present times,\nthe willingness to sacrifice to protect or to help others. And we may\ntake joy and consolation in this. God is at work here, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\nwas hope for healing that moved the blind man to obey Jesus\u2019s\ncommand, to go and wash himself. The hope that fills our hearts,\nspringing from faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the victory\nover death itself, can help us to keep a positive, even confident and\njoyful\nattitude. In our daily work that continues, in taking various\nprecautions, in helping others in this time, we have confidence: the\nLORD is with us, in HIM is our hope and our salvation. Let us\nencourage and enhearten one another with this hope. Some\nthings we have to bear, but we can and should see various positive\naspects of the changes and developments taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\nus remain in contact with one another, and let us pray for one\nanother, that Jesus, the light of the world, enlighten our communion\nand this present time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" March 22, 2020 Light of the World Are the Chinese responsible for the outbreak of the Coronavirus that is making such a stir and is bringing so much suffering and uncertainty? Or the governments? Similarly the disciples ask: \u201eWho is responsible for this man\u2019s blindness? It can only be the result of sin? Is he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homily"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1538,"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions\/1538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pathsoflove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}