Isaiah 42:14-21; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
Being witnesses of Jesus is an integral part of our life as His disciples, but it’s an aspect of following Him that causes many of us to feel guilt, shame, and inadequacy. Endless books, seminars, workshops, programs, initiatives, etc. have addressed the topic of being faithful and effective witnesses, but it seems that most of them end up increasing our sense of failure and frustration.
It hasn't always been like this. Beginning with the earliest Christians, sharing the Gospel has been a free and joyful activity of Christ’s disciples. Maybe our problem is that we've made evangelism too complicated. Perhaps the first Christians were effective witnesses because they kept things simple. They didn't have web-based outreach seminars and extensive (and expensive) initiatives to bolster witnessing. Without books, experts, programs, etc. they managed to share the good news of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire. Like many solutions to complex problems, the answer they found was simple: tell people what you know about Jesus.Today’s Gospel lesson shows us the power of this simple approach to witnessing through the experiences of a man who had been born blind. After Jesus had given him sight, this man was brought before the Pharisees for questioning. They were opposed to Jesus and were looking for ways to discredit Him. They called on the formerly blind man to testify about Jesus, but he didn't know much about Him. Pressed by the Pharisees, the man concluded that Jesus was a prophet because only a man sent from God could open the eyes of someone born blind. Called back to testify a second time, the man answered the Pharisees, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
Speaking what we do know about Jesus is the key to being effective and faithful witnesses. You know that Jesus has delivered you from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation. You know that He has washed you in Baptism and given you a new life. You know that He has made you holy and righteous in the sight of the Father and has secured an eternal place for you with Him in His glory. There’s much that you don’t know about Jesus and how to witness of Him, but one thing you do know: though you were blind, now you see because of the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus.
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