Are we punished by God? God does not punish for punishment sake, but for the building up of character and virtue, tough love if you will. The same applies to good parents. They do not let their children get away with wrong doing, but they correct firmly and always with compassion. Sometimes a difficult balance to achieve, being firm but also compassionate, since the person who has made the mistake (the sin) knows (for the most part) that they have done wrong, therefore we do not kick people when they are down, for all of us have fallen.
So when God does correct us, does He do so through nature, i.e. allow physical suffering, such as a person becoming ill through various disease, going deaf, or blind. What about people born with handicaps are these people being punished by God for some offense they committed or possibly their parents?
This second question is answered by Jesus himself in today’s Gospel, “As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” (John 9:1-3, NAB)
Part of our very makeup is a wounded nature, in that wounded nature it is part of our humanness that we become sick, old, suffer, and eventually die. And yet, through all the little pains and the big ones in our lives it is never in vain, but always for some greater purpose. That purpose always involves the greatest of the theological virtues, love. When we go through suffering either ourselves or with another it is hard to accept. We ask God, “Why?” It seems very unfair. I am sure the man born blind in today’s Gospel felt the same way and probably on some occasions also asked, “Why?”
Our blind man from the Gospel is blessed, however, since he is healed by Jesus and his sight is given to him. Yet, his healing was not simply for him, but for many. It was for his parents so that they would have more trust in God’s mercy, since they threw their own son under the bus when asked to explain how he was healed. It was for Jesus’ disciples, in order that they may witness God’s work when done in trust and with no expectations for anything in return. It was also done for all those who questioned the man’s healing, so that they may see the glory of God. In a nut shell it was done for love, for the blind man, his parents, the apostles, and all the rest who witnessed it.
Grace was poured out. The same happens today, there are still miracles and profound ones, ones in which people with cancer and who are terminal are healed, cripples walk, etc.
(I find it odd that some, even Christians will try to explain miracles away through nature alone, i.e. when Jesus multiplied the bread and fishes that it was really the people who shared what they had with one another, food stuffs they brought with them. For our purposes here, it is suffice to say that that interpretation goes beyond the text, I will reflect on this in the near future.)
There are also miracles of a different sort, not everyone is healed like the blind man, but others through their suffering bring about their own spiritual healing as well as those around them.
One may ask, “Well why not just make it all perfect from the start this way we could have avoided such suffering?” It was that way - it was perfect, we botched it up. Some people don’t want to hear that, but it’s true. One may rebut and ask, “In that case why doesn’t God fix it and make it like it was? He has fixed it; the greater suffering would have been to die in that wound not being healed. Jesus came to heal that wound, the one that kept us apart from God. The effects of the wound which we still feel and experience now will finally be healed when Jesus returns. Why do you think the Apostles longed so much for Jesus’ return believing they would witness it in their own lives? They witnessed what the healed life would be like, everyone made whole and perfect and they wanted it, they longed for it, they were in the midst of perfection for three years.
We may feel that it is not fair that we must wait so long for God to finally fix everything. But there is a reason for that, one which we may not fully understand until we see God face to face, but faith tells me it must be a good one, since Jesus has already begun the process, and if He has begun it He will also complete it.
So we do not go through anything in life because God zaps us from somewhere up there, we go through suffering for His greater glory and the salvation of souls, it may sound pious but it is true. We are more connected to another than we realize sometimes and that connection finds its center piece in God who holds it altogether and He is perfecting it even now, we just have to believe it, but we must also accept it. The blind man did and when he did, “He said, "I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.” (John 9:38, NAB)
Fr. John
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