Evangeliet om den blindfødte, fra Johannes 9, er en sentral (om svært lang) tekst rundt 4. søndag i fasten. I den nye kalenderen brukes den på 4. søndag i år A, den kan også brukes på denne søndagen andre år (spesielt om noen voksne i menigheten forberedes til dåp i påskevigilien), og om den ikke brukes om søndagen, kan den leses på hvilken som helst dag uken etter. I den tradisjonelle kalenderen leses den i dag, onsdag etter fjerde søndag i fasten:
Evangelieteksten begynner slik (hele teksten kan leses her):
På den tid fikk Jesus øye på en mann som var blind fra fødselen av. Hans disipler spurte ham da: «Rabbi, når han er født blind, hvem er det da som har syndet, – han selv eller hans foreldre?» Jesus svarte: «Hverken han selv eller hans foreldre har syndet; han ble født slik for at Gud skulle få vise sin gjerning gjennom ham. Så lenge det er dag, må jeg arbeide for ham som har sendt meg, og utføre hans verk. Natten kommer; da kan ingen mer arbeide. Men så lenge jeg er i verden, er jeg dens lys.» Så med disse ord spyttet han på jorden, laget en søledeig med spyttet, og smurte deigen på hans øyne. Så sa han: «Gå og vask deg i Sjiloah-dammen.» (Sjiloah betyr «utsendt».) Han gikk da av sted og vasket seg, og kom seende tilbake. Naboene og de som hittil hadde vært vant til å se ham som tigger, sa da: «Er ikke dette han som satt og tigget?» Noen mente at det var ham; andre sa: «Nei, det er bare en som ligner ham.» Da sa han selv: «Jo, det er meg.» Så spurte de ham: «Hvordan gikk det til at dine øyne ble åpnet?» Han svarte: «Den mannen de kaller Jesus laget en deig av søle, som han smurte på øynene mine, og så sa han at jeg skulle gå ned i Sjiloah og vaske meg. Jeg gikk dit, og da jeg vasket meg, fikk jeg synet igjen.» «Og hvor er han nå?» spurte de. Han svarte: «Det vet jeg ikke.» …
Til matutin i de tradisjonelle tidebønnene leses denne betrakningen over teksten:
Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to John 9:1-38
In that time Jesus passing by, saw a man, who was blind from his birth. And so on.Homily by St Augustin, Bishop of Hippo. – 44th Tract on John.
Dread and wondrous are all the things which our Lord Jesus Christ did, both His works and His words; the works, because He wrought them; the words, because they are deep. If, therefore, we consider the meaning of this work of His, we see that that man which was blind from his birth was a figure of mankind. This spiritual blindness was the consequence of the sin of the first man, from whom we all inherit by birth, not death only, but depravity also. For if blindness be unbelief, and faith, light, whom, when Christ came, did He find faithful? May, the Apostle who had himself been born of the race of which the Prophets came, saith We also were by nature children of wrath, even as others. Eph. ii. 3. And if children of wrath, then children also of vengeance, children of damnation, children of hell. And wherefore so by nature, unless it were that the sin of the first man had made all his descendants to be born in sin, in that they partook of his nature? If, then, our nature bring sin with it, all men, according to the spirit, are born blind.The Lord came; and what did He? He set before us a great mystery. Jesus spat on the ground, and made clay of the Spittle for the Word was made flesh. And He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay but yet that man saw not. He was anointed, indeed, but yet still he saw not. And He said unto him Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam. Now, it was the duty of the Evangelist to impress upon us the name of this Pool, and therefore he saith Siloam, which is, by interpretation, Sent. Ye, my brethren, know Who is signified where it is written: (The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from his loins, until) He that shall be Sent cometh. Gen. xlix. 10. Yea, He it is, Who, if He had not been sent, we had never been sent loose out of the prison-house of sin. The blind man went his way therefore, and washed his eyes in that Pool, which is, by interpretation, Sent in other words, he was baptized in Christ. When, therefore, he had figuratively been baptized in Him Whom the Father hath Sent into the world he came seeing. When he was anointed, he was perchance made a figure of a Catechumen.
We have heard this great mystery. Ask of a man: Art thou a Christian? He answereth thee I am not. Then, if thou ask him: Art thou a pagan then, or a Jew? And he still saith unto thee Nay and thou say Art thou then a Catechumen, though not yet one of the faithful? and he saith Yea, a Catechumen then there thou seest a man anointed, but not yet washed. With what hath he been anointed? Ask of him, and he will tell thee. Ask of him in Whom he believeth, and, being a Catechumen, he will say: In Christ. But, behold, I speak before both Faithful and Catechumens. What said I touching the. Spittle and the clay? I said for ‘the Word was made flesh.’ This the Catechumens hear, but it is not enough for them to be anointed; they must make haste to the washing, if they would have their eyes opened.