Fourth Sunday of Lent

As we did last Sunday, we deviated from the usual readings to provide special readings for those whom the Church calls the elect, folks preparing for baptism at the Easter vigil. Last Sunday, we heard the story of the woman at the well who was quick to share the news with others in her village that she had encountered Christ. Centuries later that same experience continues when some of us boldly share with others the beauty of knowing Christ.

Today we heard about the man born blind and next Sunday we will hear the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. These stories are not just for the Elect, they are important for the rest of us as well. The Church uses these gospel stories to help us look into our lives, examine our hearts, and know that God is there for us.

Like the blind man, for many of us, our initial perception of Jesus was limited. The Samaritan woman was quick to grasp that Jesus was the Messiah, but the blind man at first saw Jesus only as an extraordinary healer. “He is a prophet,” was his reply to those who questioned him. After being tossed out, he encountered Jesus again and this time, he sees Jesus for who he really is: the Son of Man.

His story illustrates what can happen to us on our faith journey. Throughout our life span, our bodies change as we age. We go through physical stages: babies become children; children become teenagers; they become young adults; in due time adults experience midlife and finally their golden years. Faith is likewise a life long journey that begins in infancy, growing within us as we age.

Unless we endeavor to nurture our relationship with God, our faith can be arrested along the way. How teenagers look at faith and God, for example, is often the same way they approach life in general; testing the limits of permissiveness. What must we do and what can’t we do? They see their relationship with God and the Church as a bunch of rules to be followed. Many adults continue to live their faith in much the same way, without realizing as they grow older, that there is much more to a faith relationship with Jesus than following the rules of life, laid down by God and society.

This was why Jesus was so frustrated with the Pharisees. They were obsessed with following the rules; not just the Ten Commandments, but also the countless other rules and regulations, which they considered to be just as important. They objected to what Jesus did, because to them, the act of mixing clay with saliva was work, which was forbidden on the Sabbath. Since Jesus did this on the Sabbath, they judged him a sinner, not a miracle worker.

They were so focused on what Jesus did physically, they were blind to what he was actually doing: opening a man’s eyes to seeing that God is compassionate and forgiving, rather than judgmental and vengeful.

Fortunately none of us are physically blind, but have you ever considered how blind you might be spiritually to the good news of forgiveness and love that Jesus sets before us? There is much wisdom behind what God asks of us, but many people don’t try to see that. Instead they see them as rules that can be ignored.

Like the Pharisees, some of us are quick to judge the faults of others. Or finding endless faults within ourselves, we are convinced that God could never forgive us for the many sins we have committed. In doing so, we blind ourselves to God’s compassion and love and that can be deadly to our spiritual well being.

With the passing of time, both our spiritual and moral vision can become clouded, like eyes often do with cataracts. Ask anyone who has had cataracts and they will tell you that their dimming eyesight was so gradual that they did not realize what was happening to them. Likewise, the shift for us in our spiritual vision can be so gradual that we fail to see the sin in the values we choose and its consequences much less appreciate the full beauty of our Catholic faith.

Sin causes us to be spiritually impaired. The sin of pride, for example, blinded the Pharisees from seeing what was ultimately good, despite all they claimed to know. They refused to hear, much less grasp the truth God has for them and for us. Is pride preventing us from hearing God today?

St. Paul urges us, “You were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of good ness and righteousness and truth.” Those who will be baptized this Easter aren’t coming to the sacrament unprepared. Realizing that they were in darkness, they seek to learn about the faith that enables us to live with the light of Christ guiding us throughout our lives, blessing us with the wisdom to follow his example and make this a better world.

Imagine how different our world would be if we would all consciously strive to “learn what is pleasing to the Lord and take no part in the fruitless works of darkness.” We would avoid sin at all cost by endeavoring to deepen our relationship with Christ. This we could do if we are willing to seek the light of Christ and discover through prayer and reflection the wisdom behind why God asks us to be children of light in what we say and do.