Lent Day 36: I am the man

We would all like to be the person who is the apple of someone’s eye. The one who everyone likes and looks up to. The person who would be the center of attraction. But with stardom also comes loss of freedom and the relentless disturbance of the paparazzi. Which is why we would like to be known but once that happens, we would like to be unknown! The weight of popularity is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Being in the limelight and not being able to handle it is what winners of lotteries realize. In a day their life turns upside down. They lose their privacy, relationships and make lots of enemies. What they think is a blessing, soon turns into a curse. There are the rare people who know how to handle unexpected riches. There are also those who know how to handle fame.

In St. John 9, Jesus heals a blind man. The people recognize the healed man as the one who used to sit and beg. While some said that this is that man, others said that it is someone who looks like him. Finally in verse 9, he says, “I am the man.” The healed man takes upon himself the attention and popularity he is going to receive. Perhaps he was also weary of the criticism he would get but does not allow that to deter him.

What follows is an open trial by the people and the Pharisees. His parents are also not spared. They then say that their son is old enough to speak for himself. The Pharisees try to extract something from the parents or the man so that they can use it against Jesus. He learns how to handle fame and criticism. He answers their question of whether Jesus is a sinner by saying in verse 25, “Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

This lent is a time to be called by God, touched and healed by God and transformed by God. It is also a time to speak boldly, with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is to realize and say that I am the one and to speak as to what has come about in us with the transformation brought forth by God. Amen.