IV Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
Eph 5:8-14
Jn 9:1-41

It is quite clear that the theme in all of these readings is light and sight, including the first reading – which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the blind seeing or light, but let’s take a closer look.  King Saul wasn’t cutting it as king of Israel and the Lord wanted a replacement so he sent Samuel to find a new King.  From the house of Jesse of Bethlehem, Samuel looks at all the fine sons that Jesse had: seven of them.  Strange thing though, the Lord didn’t want any of them – they were the cream of the crop and yet the Lord chose David – the youngest and tending the sheep, the guy out back, the last resort, the backup of the backup; yet scriptures call him, ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance.  
“Not as man sees does God see, 
because man sees the appearance 
but the LORD looks into the heart.”

Many times we are quick to judge and quick to act to think that we know best – as we grow older those habits become more engrained in us.  “This is the way I’m gonna do it because this is the way that I’ve always done it….” We are quick to judge the book by its cover, quick to think we know what the other is up to.  But our Lord doesn’t work like that – and if we are to do His will, then we are going to have to make some changes in our life; making Him part of the decision making process and this is the best season to do that.

The season of Lent calls us to prayer, fasting, and acts of charity to help us rethink what we thought was a foregone conclusion and reexamine our habits and routines that we have built up over the years.  One of my Lenten promises was that I gave up watching Netflix, suddenly I have this new block of free time that I can actually use to sleep or read that book that’s been collecting dust on my table.  The spiritual practices of giving up stuff disorients us in a way, blinds us in a way so that we have to turn to God to help make us see again… and to see the way that He wants us to see.  He is the light of the world.  He brings light into our darkness so that we can be children of the light, and not of the dark.

We in the world – with the gift of technology and communication – we are able to do so much and yet when we are faced with the horrible Malaysian Airlines plane crash in the middle of the Indian Ocean, we are at the mercy of the weather, the ocean, and limited by our “advanced technology”.  When we make use technology as an end in itself rather than a means to an end, we end up becoming dependent and blinding ourselves.  When we make assumptions about people and judging them harshly – including our own family members – we end up blinding ourselves.

The scary thing is… we don’t even know that we are blind, until it is too late and tragedy strikes and we don’t know to who to turn.  We can’t turn to our family and friends because they warned us and we’re just gonna feel ashamed.  We can’t turn to God because we forgot how to pray; and that’s when you have fallen into despair.  It is really scary in the dark – even the things familiar to you like walking around your house in the dark.  How many times have you run into a table leg or a door jam in the dark?  Isn’t it your house – shouldn’t you know it well?  Why are you running into things?  If you don’t know God as well as you know your house, then you are going to have a bad time when it goes dark.  Therefore don’t wait, don’t despair, but turn to him.

The irony of today’s Gospel if you were paying attention is that the blind man is the only one that is able to see.  He is asked three times and explains it four times what had happened.  It almost gets tedious – his neighbors, his family and the Pharisees all are completely blind to what has just happened.  They question their own knowledge, their own habits, and their own son – how can this be?  This man was blind, and now he sees? How is this possible?!  A miracle that happens right in front of your eyes and you are on your smart phone and googling if this can really happen.  Meanwhile we miss something spectacular and wonderful: God’s providence.  There are miracles happening every day, but are we conscious and aware enough to see what is going on?  The spiritual gift of sight is a powerful thing and we should desire to have this as an integral part of our lives to help us not only grow closer with God, but also to help others in witness and testimony to God’s wonderful providential acts.  

We are now at the half way point of Lent.  And I encourage and challenge all of you to persevere in your Lenten practices.  Whatever you have given up, keep it up, challenge yourself and make it harder.  For those that haven’t even started you still have three more to make it happen.  Do not slumber any longer… awake from your sleep and arise from the dead!!  Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness… but expose them to the light through confession and reconciliation.  The light of the Lord will give sight to your eyes and your spiritual eyes so that you are no longer blind.  But this just doesn’t happen miraculously, He can’t force you to do that, He invites you to ask Him to help you.  Be like the blind man – where when one sense goes, the others become more aware; and you take nothing for granted – so that when your sight is restored you have a greater awareness of who is behind all of this.  Today is the day to make these changes in your life; don’t delay any longer.  May you persevere in growing closer to our Lord the rest of this Lenten season.