Commentary on the Gospel of
Doing the Word
One of the Aesop’s pieces of wisdom, given wider currency by the American football coach Lou Holtz, goes thus: “After all is said and done, there’s lot more that is said than done.” Apostle James would agree. For him, nothing is more important than doing the word, which is “religion pure and blameless.” A doing that benefits and cares for the neighbor. God is such a doer. Jesus says: “My Father goes on working, and so do I” (Jn 5:17). Clearly, in today’s gospel, Jesus is working hard to cure the blind man. He takes the man by the hand to the margins of the village, puts spittle on his eyes, lays his hands upon him, and then on his eyes. He could have healed with a word, but he complements his words with action. Perhaps Jesus was modelling for us how practice of faith must cost us time and effort.
