At this point in Lent we read about the blind man whom Jesus cured. The blind man’s neighbors assumed the parents must have been sinners that God punished their son with blindness. Jesus claimed, “Not true.” And then the Pharisees “proved” Jesus was a sinner, because he cured on the sabbath. Two innocent people were accused because of others’ assumptions, those of the Pharisees blinded to reality by seeing only what they wanted to see.

I can assume many things, but are they reality? Am I blinded because I don’t know the back story? It may look as if people are lazy, inconsiderate, greedy. But before I catch myself judging, I remind myself there may be a back story. Maybe the person has a health issue, an urgent need, a higher value than what I imagine. As I push my judging attitude aside to give room for kind thoughts, I hear Jesus say to the believing blind man: “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind” (Jn. 9:39).