Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

I Do Know This

The confrontation in Saint John’s gospel between the man born blind and the Pharisees (John 9) is very dramatic. The Pharisees told him that the person who had just given him his sight was a sinner and could not have been from God because he broke the commandment forbidding work on the Sabbath — which they interpreted to mean any kind of work, even the “work” of making a blind man see.

They presented him a theological argument, but the man didn’t answer in terms of theology. Instead, he said, “I don’t know if he is a sinner . . . but I do know that I was blind and now I can see!” He may have been unsophisticated theologically, but he knew that Jesus gave him sight and for him that was enough. I think his is one of clearest stories in the New Testament about what faith means.

Lent is a time when we get back to the basics. So, what is the basis of your faith, what personal experience and personal conviction supports it? Ask yourself (and it may take some time to answer) how you would finish this sentence: I may not know everything about what I believe, but I do know this: ______________.