20230319 RECOGNIZING JESUS AS THE LIGHT OF OUR LIVES
19 March 2023, Sunday, 4th Week of Lent
First reading |
1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13 © |
David is anointed by Samuel
The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’ When Samuel arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed stands there before him,’ but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him: God does not see as man sees: man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.’ Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 22(23) © |
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Second reading |
Ephesians 5:8-14 © |
Anything exposed by the light will turn into light
You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth. Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness but exposing them by contrast. The things which are done in secret are things that people are ashamed even to speak of; but anything exposed by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated turns into light. That is why it is said:
Wake up from your sleep,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn8:12 |
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Gospel | John 9:1-41 © |
The blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored
As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?’ ‘Neither he nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered ‘he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
‘As long as the day lasts
I must carry out the work of the one who sent me;
the night will soon be here when no one can work.
As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.’
Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (a name that means ‘sent’). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.
His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, ‘Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘Yes, it is the same one.’ Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’ The man himself said, ‘I am the man.’ So they said to him, ‘Then how do your eyes come to be open?’ ‘The man called Jesus’ he answered ‘made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me, “Go and wash at Siloam”; so I went, and when I washed I could see.’ They asked, ‘Where is he?’ ‘I don’t know’ he answered.
They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man’s eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said, ‘He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.’ Then some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How could a sinner produce signs like this?’ And there was disagreement among them. So they spoke to the blind man again, ‘What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?’ ‘He is a prophet’ replied the man. However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had gained his sight, without first sending for his parents and asking them, ‘Is this man really your son who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.’ His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, ‘He is old enough; ask him.’
So the Jews again sent for the man and said to him, ‘Give glory to God! For our part, we know that this man is a sinner.’ The man answered, ‘I don’t know if he is a sinner; I only know that I was blind and now I can see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He replied, ‘I have told you once and you wouldn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples too?’ At this they hurled abuse at him: ‘You can be his disciple,’ they said ‘we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man replied, ‘Now here is an astonishing thing! He has opened my eyes, and you don’t know where he comes from! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but God does listen to men who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of a man who was born blind; if this man were not from God, he couldn’t do a thing.’ ‘Are you trying to teach us,’ they replied ‘and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!’ And they drove him away.
Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied ‘tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You are looking at him; he is speaking to you.’ The man said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and worshipped him.
Jesus said:
‘It is for judgement
that I have come into this world,
so that those without sight may see
and those with sight turn blind.’
Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, ‘We are not blind, surely?’ Jesus replied:
‘Blind? If you were,
you would not be guilty,
but since you say, “We see,”
your guilt remains.’
RECOGNIZING JESUS AS THE LIGHT OF OUR LIVES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SM 16:1,6-7,10-13; EPH 5:8-14; JN 9:1-41 (OR JN 9:1,6-9,13-17,34-38)]
The world is blinded in so many ways. It cannot see clearly. The world is looking for happiness but seeking in the wrong places and offering illusory pursuits. Like Samuel, we are not so discerning at times. We tend to judge things superficially. Indeed, we think that if we have power, money, status, popularity and position, we will be happy in life. The truth is that such things rob us of our freedom, anxiety and peace. Powerful people are always afraid of their enemies, and they have many. Rich people are always preoccupied with growing their money and then worrying about who to give to, so that their hard-earned money is not squandered away. People of status and position have no freedom and privacy to do what they like. It is like the poor man who found a priceless pearl, but lost his peace and safety because people were after his life as they wanted to have the pearl as well. Indeed, the prophet puts it aptly, “God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Similarly, those who live in sin or in adultery may appear to be enjoying the pleasures of life. But they are hurting within because they will have to bear the consequences of their sins. Their health could be destroyed because of promiscuity and excessive smoking, drinking and eating. Their personal lives could be destroyed because their relationships with their spouse and children will become strained. Most of all, they have no peace in their hearts. Indeed, their temporary pleasures are marred by the fear that their crimes and sins may one day be discovered. They have no peace of mind except a taunting and tormenting conscience, especially in their quiet moments.
Why are we blind? What prevents us from seeing? Like the blind man, we could be blind simply because we are ignorant. He was born blind, that is, ignorant because of Original Sin. We have lost the preternatural gift of infused knowledge. If we are sincerely ignorant of the truth, God will forgive us. For this is what Jesus said, “If you were (blind), you would not be guilty.” So on the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they were doing.” So for those ignorant of the Lord and of the truth, they could be forgiven.
There are others who are blind for fear of being isolated and marginalized. This is the case of the parents of the blind man. They were not ready to stand up for their son or for Jesus because they feared the religious leaders. “His parents answered, ‘We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but we don’t know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.’ His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, ‘He is old enough; ask him.'” Rejection and alienation from the bigger group, especially our community and support group prevent us from standing up for our beliefs. Indeed, many Catholics are ashamed to be recognized as Catholics for fear that they might be ridiculed and excluded from their social circles.
Still, there are others who are blind because they live in sin due to weakness. Because of sin, many of us are not able to confront the truth about ourselves. We cannot cope with our weaknesses and our tendency to sin, especially in the flesh. As a consequence, when we go deeper into the state of sin, we are unable to see the truth about ourselves. We begin to rationalize and justify our sins even, like the Pharisees in the gospel.
However, the worst sin among all sins is the sin of Pride. This sin blocks our ability to see the truth. Like the religious leaders in the gospel, the sin of pride is not due to ignorance but simply the refusal to see. In the gospel, we read how the Pharisees were finding ways and means to reject the fact that the blind man was healed by Jesus. They tried to make him deny the truth. Not only did they put pressure on him to reject Jesus but also on others so that they could perpetuate their lie. Their pride prevented them from being open to the reality of the situation and Jesus who healed the blind man. They were not humble enough to learn. So pride is a deliberate sin. A person who chooses not to see is guilty and commits the sin against the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the Pharisees, “‘Blind? If you were, you would not be guilty, but since you say, ‘We see’, your guilt remains.”
As we enter the second part of the season of Lent, we are called to recognize that only Jesus, who is our Good Shepherd, can lead us out of the valley of darkness by healing us of our blindness. St Paul exhorts us all, “Wake up from your sleep, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Indeed, Jesus is the Light of the World. He has come to enlighten us of the truth, about ourselves and of God. He is the way, the truth and the life. If we want to find truth and love and life, then to Jesus, our Good Shepherd we must come.
But how can we come to recognize Him as our saviour? It is a process. The blind man began by searching for the truth. Because of his sincerity, Jesus came to find Him. Initially, he did not know Jesus but he encountered Jesus through His mercy and compassion. Touched by His love and mercy, he came to realize that Jesus was surely a holy man, a prophet and the Son of Man. As a consequence of his growing faith and understanding, he worshipped Him.
The question we need to ask is, have we begun the process of rediscovering Jesus in our lives? This is what the Popes have been asking us, from Pope John Paul II to Pope Benedict to Pope Francis. Have you rediscovered Jesus as your Lord and saviour? We need to renew our faith in the Lord. Until we confess our faith in Him, we will not allow Him to be the shepherd of our lives. But if we believe in Jesus, then we will be able to surrender ourselves to the Lord. That we are still living a life of sin means that we are only paying lip service to the Lord. We are categorical theists, believers of the doctrines but practical atheists, as we do not live out what we believe. For those who live such lives, we cannot be saved because we are even worse than the atheists who, out of ignorance, do not recognize the Lord. We would be behaving just like the Pharisees who were not true to their beliefs. Mere profession of faith alone cannot save us unless what we worship is how we live. We must offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. To worship the Lord is to surrender our lives to Him entirely in thought, word and deed. For those of us who have found the Lord, for those who have lost Him and for those who are finding Him, we are called to be open to the truth. Let us live in the light and in the process, we will discover that what Jesus said and taught are true.
Like the blind man, we are sent. We are called to live enlightened and holy lives. This is the consequence of baptism, as symbolized in the healing of the blind man. “Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (a name that means ‘sent’). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.” Let us imitate the Lord who said, “As long as the day lasts I must carry out the work of the one who sent me; the night will soon be here when no one can work.”
Today, let us renew our baptismal promises by washing ourselves in the pool. For those who are baptized, we need to make a good confession so that we can see the truth about ourselves clearly and to see Jesus. Let us say to Jesus we want to be His disciples. This is what the blind man is asking of us. “Do you want to become his disciples too?” What is our response? Will we react as the Pharisees did? “At this they hurled abuse at him: ‘You can be his disciple,’ they said ‘we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don’t know where he comes from.'” Do we know where Jesus came from? If we do, then let us renew our faith in Him, walk His path and worship Him with our lives. Otherwise, happiness, life and love will slip from us, for Jesus said, “It is for judgement that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see and those with sight turn blind.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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