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On sin and blinness- last ten days January questions

1'' He calls them to the application to their own laws. They are braeking those: they should hear the accused before expressing a judgement. They are certainly sinning. He also is a follower of Jesus - he went to him at night - but he pins down the Pharisees on their shortcomings. Before passing a judgement on somebody - who in my heart I know to be righteous - keep in check your own actiosn. If the procedure is not faithful to God`s taechings any conclusion is bound to be flawed. He doesn`t defend Jesus on the basis of his personal belief, but on the basis of Tradition. He knows that he will pass the toughest most thorough test based on recurring to Tradition. 2'' You can throw the first stone if you know that you are innocent but we are all sinners. We must look inside ourselves first. Do the missing parts shed light on whether she was actually caught in sin or not? even if she was, they are not showing any mercy and Jesus wants them to investigate their own conscience. Are you giving false testimony? in which case they too would be breaking one of the Commandments. Thinking about it are`n those the passages where John says that divorce is not allowed even in case of adultery? so condemnation to death all the more forbidden. God kills the sin not the sinner: Jesus came to heal us. He writes in the sand: a physical reminder of the written law of the forefathers? Jesus shows mercy. The others don`t. 3'' Look at me Jesus said I am the light that illumines your path - the Light of Truth. He is holding the Lamp of Truth ailmented by the Word of the Father. So really it is that Lamp - God`s light - that testifies to the Son whom the Father sent to illumine the path. He say `even if` so if I testimonied...Is that wrong? Certainly he is fully aware of the Business His Father sent Him to do on earth. He has the full Light of God given Knowledge. Knowledge that is the light that guides us to safety and freedom from sin like when Moses led the Israelites away from the prisony in Egypt. In the last lines he talks about lifting him up like you do with a lamp to illumine the street. Now, as the reference is to the sacrifice of the Eucharist..what is being lifted for all to see? Jesus Body. Follow me he says I am the light. 4'' How does a person abide in Jesus` word? The Word is the rock on which we are invited to build our houses, our souls and our souls are the tabernacle where Jesus abides: we love Him and place Him at its centre. We take the Kingdom of God in our souls and so having accepted the lovingly given gift, the Father welcomes us as his beloved children who is happy to stay in his abode. The building bricks of this abode are the Words made concrete by putting them into action 5'' What does it mean to have God as your Father? That Jesus is our brother our eldest brother. That thanks to Jesus call and redeeming sacrifice we became the adoptive children of the Father. If you love God you have treasured the Words and obeyed his Commandments and so now have the `lenses` to recognise me for the Son, he says. If not, your father is the devil: who do you obey? and love? 6'' Why were the Jews so angry that Jesus claimed to exist before Abraham was born? Jesus is God - the line I am who I am refer i think to Genesis. That for them is a sin. what Jesus is saying is that being God he was there before craetion and encompasses it all. Abraham who like the other prophets found him and followed him and so did not `die`. The Pharisees do not understand that this death he is talking about is not the physical one but the spiritual one. That Jesus is talking about eternal life That`s why he was before creation. But the Jews seem to venerate a man more than God. They don`t see that Jesus is God and so above all men, however prominent their role faithfully played for the Glory of God was. Of course, the words of the Prophets are important but only insofar and they do not become fully so till the Lord comes personally to vivify it with His own life ''and death''. Death...eternal life...the confused Pharisees do not understand and so they get angry with what to their deafened ears sounds like heresy. 7'' What are some of the ways God`s work was displayed in the blind? He shows Mercy by showing that it is for the sake of their forgiveness and understanding that God blessed this man with blindnesss so that God`s Almighty power could be shown. It is not due to his sins or his parents either. He too has been suffering to play his part in the redention of humanity. Jesus has him to wash away his sins in the pool of Siloam ''which means Sent''. Like Simeon who could not die till he had seen the light. He was physically and spiritually blind like anyone else till Jesus came to dispel the darkness caused by sin. Some, though, like Simeon and this man are innocent. And endure their crosses with patience: when God comes on earth they don`t show anger for what they suffered, but ask for release with anticipated gratitude. 8'' Why did Jesus insist on healing on the Sabbath when the Pharisees taught this was sin? Because they don`t see that the healing of a sick is far more important than obeyance to the letter of the Law which is blind and cannot discern when some action is truly needed. For the love of the sick brother. Also they refuse to believe to the healed one so they ask his parents, who then tell them to ask him and trust his word. So back to the Tradition that then - healed one answering and confirming without fear a second time - points them again to what they actually saw: that is a miracle that only somebody in full communion with God can perform, because the Lord answers the righteous righteous pleads. So if the healing was done following God`s will, Jesus is not a sinner and the act is not unlawful. What strikes is this travelling back and forth from the present deeds of Jesus to the very recent testimonies and then to the older ones ''symbolised by these two generations of the faithful Jewish family and then through that one again to the present. It powerfully shows how the Law he brings fullfills the one given to Moses. God gave you these Comandments out of Love and called you to apply them out of Love. If like the episode of the Samaritan you walk past somebody in need, you may know the Law but you fail to apply it. And thus that`s when you break it. What is the cost of your refusing to act? forgive our sins .... and in omissions. 9'' Why did Jesus cause those who see to become blind? He was cast out by those who claimed they knew everything and possessed knowledge of all laws. When he sees Jesus, he recognises him. Ignorance of the Law makes you innocent but ignoring it and refusing to accept it when Jesus offers it is a sin. Jesus illustrates the meaning of spiritual blindness by means of a concrete example taking away or giving sight making people experience how seeing''knowing''/ not seeing ''ignoring or not having been gifted with knowledge'' feels. In fact then the Pharisees ask the question. They are awakened from their own spiritual blindness in a very concrete and thus powerful way. He gets them to think by not taking the teachings blindly. He was cast out and when he sees Jesus he recognises him. 10'' How can a person determine whether they are one of the sheep cared for by Jesus? Recognition and bonding is centered on the voice. The sheep recognises the shepards` voice and follows. Intersting as the blind man recognises Christ the Light of the world from the voice and then is healed of his spiritual blindness. All the senses coming together if you add Jesus rubbing the eyes to take off the mud. Ignorance of the word - hardness that when the heart calls for healing can be melted away with the Living Waters of God`s touch. Christ the Fountain of truth. Also the true shepard doesn` t try to get to the sheep taking advantage of their blindness and coming in surreptishiously. The gatekeeper opens the gate because he recognises him. Who is the gatekeeper? i take it is a trusted friend of both the one who caring for his/her dear lsot sheep brings Christ in through the main door.

By: Alessandra Parrini
Category: My Blog

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Reflections on the question would you have believed to Jesus words prophetising his death etc.?

It`s a funny question to ask as I come after all that has been accomplished. You should say placing yourself in so and so sandals would you have believed. Which leads to the Q whose sandals? if I was a faithful Jewess of the time yes. Like anyone who believed in Moses and all the forefathers who conveyed to them the Word of God and who so are the Tradition, they should have enough support for their faith. Support that comes from knowledge seeing everything coming true. One could say is it because Jesus confirmed in words? correct me if I am wrong but if like we have to imagine that faithful Jewess that his mother was had faithfully taught him that would constitute no surprise. He fully and confidently knows because he will do his Father`s Will. My hour has not come he said at Cana. They now listen to a detailed description but cannot fully understand. Do they believe enough? are they too afraid to accept?

By: Alessandra Parrini
Category: My Blog

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Why do some people need signs and wonders to believe in Jesus, and others do not?

Because they do not have enough faith and so like Thomas they need to `touch` the miracles and they need to see it. But Jesus does not need to be physically present to heal like in the case of the official`s son. The official is poor in spirit but has faith or better potential for a faith growth and so Jesus challenges him: walk home serene and know that your son is alive. And the official believes. Again there are testimonies saying that when Jesus pronounced those words at that very same time the son was healed. Still eyewitnessing and direct testimonies are impotrtant: they intercross each other with Jesus at the centre.

By: Alessandra Parrini
Category: Jesus Heals the Official`s Son

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