(See the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent)
The cave was black. We were surrounded by darkness with no light anywhere. It was dangerous. We easily could have walked into a wall or hit our head on overhanging rock. Slowly we walked, hands raised before us trying to find any obstacle. Steps were taken cautiously as we tested the way.
Then suddenly one of our group lit a match. For a brief moment we could see the path ahead. We could take a few steps without hindrance. We could proceed without fear. All of a sudden, we heard a noise. Someone was coming. The light first came as a stream. The way before us began to be illuminated.
One person of our group who had seen how dark it was in the cave hastened back to get a lantern. The light it provided helped us through to the other side. As we moved closer and closer to the end, the light of the lantern gave way to the brightness of the sun.
I often think of that day when reading of Jesus’ encounter with the man born blind, which is the Gospel reading for this Sunday. Having the gift of sight, so often taken for granted, I try to imagine a world without light. The man born blind did not have to do so; it was the only world he knew. For his entire life, up to this point, he only knew darkness, it was complete. Then seemingly out of nowhere, Jesus enters the man’s life and lifts the darkness. He gives the man the gift of sight and light fills his eyes. He can see.
The evangelist recalls the miracle with vivid description. He does the same when recounting other “signs” of Jesus. John chooses to tell these events with great detail. He refers to them as “signs” to emphasize a broader meaning than the healing or miracle itself. The “sign,” in this case, points to something beyond the physical healing. It points us in the direction of faith. The “sign” is actually a call to faith. Jesus opens the eyes of the man born blind, not only so he can see light but that he might also see the Light, Jesus, who is “the light of the world.”
The Sadducees represent the forces that deny the light. They obstinately refuse to believe. After all their investigations, and despite their disingenuous inquiries, it is clear that the man was blind from birth. It is just as clear that Jesus cured him. Yet they willingly remain in the darkness blinded by their own stubbornness, prompting Jesus to say: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.”
Jesus’ cure of the blind man is an invitation to faith. Jesus encounters the man again after his testimony before the Sadducees. He asks him: “‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’… ‘Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘I do believe, Lord,’ and he worshiped him.” Jesus calls the man born blind to faith. The man puts his faith in Jesus and now he can see, not only with his eyes but with his heart as well.
The first reading from II Samuel recalls Samuel’s search for God’s replacement for King Saul. The first son Eliab is presented. His outward appearance temporarily blinds Samuel to the one chosen. As God reminds him: “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.”
After meeting all Jesse’s sons present, Samuel asks if there are any others. David, the youngest, is brought in from the fields. The Lord then instructs Samuel to anoint him. David, the unexpected, will be the King.
Just as God looked into the heart of David, Jesus looks into the heart of the man born blind. He sees in him an avenue for light, an openness to faith. At the same time, the man born blind, like Samuel, sees the man who will be king.
The journey of Lent gives us the opportunity to fortify the light of faith. It is as though we are sitting around a campfire. We enjoy the brightness of its light which seems to be constantly new as flames rise up in different directions. We revel in its warmth which lifts the chill in the air. We want to keep it burning strong so we put on another log.
One way we do this is by living as “children of the light,” as St. Paul reminds us in the passage from Ephesians that serves as the second reading. He reminds us that we have been delivered from darkness and walk in the light so we should live in goodness, righteousness and truth while avoiding sin which dims the light.
Jesus calls us to faith: A faith that is dynamic and growing. A faith that is strong and vibrant. A faith which sees Him by whom the darkness is scattered; Him who fills our hearts with light; and Him who will lead us along the path of life.
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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Penndel and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Read more reflections by Msgr. Prior here.
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