“Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 4:9)

When Jesus was healing the man born blind, He said: “as long as it is day, we must do the works of He who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
A question arises; when is “night”?
At first reflection, we focus on the image of “night” as the description of the Passion of the Lord, His arrest and execution. There is much truth in that way of thinking, as the Lord was aware that healing the blind man would bring controversy. In this light, we understand that, as long as Jesus is alive, namely “as long as it is day”, He would work freely and sufficiently, healing the sick and proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven.
When we reflect more on this passage, we see that during the night when Jesus was betrayed, the New and Everlasting Covenant was instituted, and His Passion saved us and brought us to New Life. Union with Christ and His Passion, or recognising Christ in the middle of our nights, brings much light and freedom. The night of hatred, in a spectacular, way became bright and the source of light and Friday of the crucifixion was turned into Good Friday. This is the work of the powerful mercy of Jesus. Due to Jesus’ Passion, times of persecution, rejection, imprisonment, or incapacity due to illness or accidents are not real enemies to us.
Apart from that, it is good to add that each one of us is given a conscience, the hidden sanctuaries where God speaks to us. None of the nights can overwhelm us, then. Conscience is a gift where we find our integrity. It is a place in our souls, which is very receptive and hungry for the Truth. The beauty of truth,
such as the Passion of Christ, enlightens us even in the middle of the darkest nights. Conscience helps us in all sorts of dramatic situations to see light because God is with us. Blessed are those who are attached to the Lord in their darkness as they are united with the Passion of Christ and become the source of love, freedom and integrity.
The Lord said: “Night is coming, when no one can work”. What kind of night then? The real night, is ,then, when we cannot see Jesus, when He is dead to us. The night is, also, when our conscience is overtaken by other false promises, when it is blocked, spoiled and dirty. Then, we are paralysed, disintegrated, blind, and cannot work at all.
The real night is when we cut ourselves off from Christ, or when we are misled and withdrawn from Him. St. Paul explained this kind of night to Timothy: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2Tm4:3).
“But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, he gave the right to become children of God.” (Jn 1:12) May God keep us in that grace and never permit anyone to separate us from Christ.

Keep safe and hope that we go through this crisis secure and successfully. We keep our trust in God. God bless you. Fr. Stan