We can imagine that the blind man in today’s Gospel (John 9) had been suffering bias, prejudice, and all kinds of verbal abuse all his life because of the social beliefs of his time. At his time, it was thought serious physical defects like his were the result of sin, either his sin or his parents’ sin. So, we can imagine people being nasty to him saying things like, “What did your parents do that you are blind?” Another suffering for people with serious defects like his was that they were excluded from entering the temple. (That is why there was a crippled man at the gate of the temple in Acts 3 as Peter and John were entering it; Acts 3:2).
That blind man must surely have become strong interiorly through listening to a life of abuse because after his cure we see his courage when he did not cower in front of the Pharisees but fearlessly admitted that it was Jesus who cured him and even ironically asked them, “Do you want to be his disciples too?” He was himself; he did not give in to pressure to say something false. Contrast him with his parents—his parents knew he had been healed by Jesus, but they cowered in front of the Pharisees and simply said to ask their son about his cure as they didn’t know and their son was old enough to tell them. John explicitly adds that his parents said this because they were afraid (John 9:22-23).
We see the same contrast in society today—standing up to peer pressure or giving in to peer pressure. When one gives in to peer pressure, one is not really oneself, just as the blind man’s parents were not really themselves. On the other hand, standing up against pressure means one is being true to oneself just like the blind man was true to himself under pressure from the Pharisees. Standing up to peer pressure leads to making good choices and good decisions in difficult situations. Not standing up to peer pressure leads to making poor choices and unwise decisions in challenging situations. The blind man is a hero. He made a good choice and good decision in a difficult situation. His parents are not heroes. The anti-Catholic peer pressure in this country at this time is responsible for umpteen poor choices made by many people who are afraid to stand up and be publicly counted for Jesus. If one is persecuted by friends for going to Mass, are they really friends? Would not real friends allow one to practice one’s faith and belief without persecution? When people stand up for their faith, it gives courage to others to also stand up for their faith.
The courage of the blind man reminds me of many throughout history who bravely made a choice and decision for Jesus even though they knew it would cost them. John Henry Newman, later Cardinal Newman, was a leading Anglican scholar in his time. When he converted to Catholicism in 1845, he was barred from many roles in England. It meant the loss of all his ties with Oxford University, and losing family, friends, and enduring isolation. However this led him to a more complete surrender to God like the blind man in today’s Gospel who prostrated himself before Jesus. Our translation says the man worshipped Jesus (John 9:38), but the sense of John’s Greek is that the man prostrated before Jesus. His body language expressed his faith in Jesus. John Henry Newman, like the blind man, prostrated himself before Jesus when he converted. His conversion bore good fruit. Many in the intellectual world in Oxford and Cambridge converted to also become Catholic.
Closer to our time, Dr. Barnard Nathanson, converted from pro-choice to pro-life. He helped legalize abortion in the US, was director of the largest abortion clinic in the western world, and presided over 60,000 abortions and personally performed 5,000. With the development of ultrasound technology which allowed him to see the babies in the womb, he changed sides and became a very strong pro-life advocate which earned him much criticism, scorn, and ostracization from former colleagues and activists. Also influential in his decision was seeing 1,200 people praying outside an abortion clinic one January morning. He was a Jewish atheist but later became a Catholic and was baptized by Cardinal John O’ Connor in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York in December 1996. One of the many influences on his conversion was his former professor (Dr. Karl Stern), also a Jew, who became Catholic. Standing up for Jesus gives others the courage to also stand up for Jesus. Another influence in his decision to become Catholic was Jesus’ mercy. Dr. Nathanson passed away in 2011.
The blind man in the Gospel received his sight from Jesus and stood up for Jesus when put under pressure. May the Lord give us the strength and courage to stand up for him so that others may also be encouraged to stand up for Jesus.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2026
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Fourth Sunday of Lent Year A
Jesus, the Light of the World 2023
We have washed in the Siloam of Baptism and we believe in Jesus 2014
Jesus touches you when you receive the sacraments 2008
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