“Allowing ourselves to be led into the Light and thus ‘feeling blessed’ in encountering Jesus, the Sun (the Son!)!”

(Based on 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a, Eph 5:8-14 and Jn 9:1-41 – 4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A – Laetare Sunday)

In 1728, the English surgeon William Cheselden performed a remarkable surgery on a 13-year-old boy who had been blind from birth.

After the cataract surgery, the boy could suddenly see.

But the doctors discovered something astonishing.

The boy said that everything looked as if it was touching his eyes.
He could not judge distance. He could not recognise shapes.
He did not even know the difference between a cube and a sphere…
… although he could recognise them perfectly with his hands.

He had eyes…
… but he still had to learn how to truly see.

Indeed, every encounter with the Light leads to an important question: Do we accept the “Beauty of Light” with faith and trust…
… or do we tend to shun the “Brilliance of the Light” and sink deeper into darkness and disbelief?

The Gospel of the Day shows a man born blind who encounters Jesus, the Light of the World.

This incident becames a time of teaching to recognise that one must learn to see…
… not just with eyes, but with the heart.

Because “the real miracle is not opening of the the eyes – it’s the opening of the heart!”

And here lies the choice: do we allow this Light to guide us upward, into faith…
… or do we remain in darkness, resisting what God wants to reveal?”

The Gospel speaks of…
… a man – who was imprisoned by blindness – “feeling blessed” in having encountered Jesus, the Sun
… other men – who remained chained in ignorance and darkness – “filled with anger and antagonism” – resisting the Truth!

Chapter 9 of the Gospel of St John is a story of “blindness” encountering Light – with contrasting effects:

A man who is “born blind”, touched by the Light of the World, experiences healing
Other people “remain blind”, by opposing the Light of the World, emitting hostility.

We thus see, in this long yet beautiful passage contrasting movements:

An upward movement – towards faith and trust – of the man who was born blind
A downward movement – towards scepticism and unbelief – of the people who clung to prejudices

1) The upward movement – towards faith and trust – of the man who was born blind

Jesus declares that the blindness of the man was an occasion for “the glory of God to be revealed” (Jn 9: 3)

This revelation of the Glory of God comes about with Jesus doing a unique action…
… “spitting on the ground, making clay with the saliva and smearing the clay in the eyes” of the man born blind (Jn:6)

This action of the Son would remind us of the action done by His Father, who at the beginning of creation, would reveal His Glory, by “forming man out of the clay of the ground, and blowing in his nostrils, the breath of life!” (Gen 2:7)

This act of the revelation of God would trigger the upward movement- of faith and trust- of the blind man…
a. Initially he on being asked about Jesus, he would say, “I don’t know” (Jn 9:12)
b. Then, he would say how Jesus is “a prophet” (Jn 9: 17)
c. Then, he would get defensive about Jesus and say that “if He is not from God, He would not be able to do anything” (Jn 9: 33)
d. Finally, after realising that Jesus is the Son of God, he would worship Him and say, “I do believe, Lord!” (Jn 9: 38)

2) A downward movement – towards scepticism and unbelief – of the people who clung to prejudices

An act of goodness always gathers detractors and critics…
… and Jesus, the Perfection of Goodness greatly experienced it.

a. Initially, the Pharisees pointed to the violation of the Sabbath Law, to prove that He is not from God: “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath” (Jn 9: 16)
b. Then, they would question the parents of the man, because they thought, he had not been blind from birth: “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?” (Jn 9: 19)
c. Then, they would defend their arguments basing on their loyalty to the authenticity of Moses, the law-giver: “We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this One is from” (Jn 9: 29)
d. Finally, they would engage into a direct dispute with the Lord Himself: “Surely, we are not also blind, are we?” (Jn 9: 40)

Jesus perfectly sums up…

The upward Movement- towards faith and trust
The downward Movement – towards scepticism and unbelief…
… by saying: ” I came into this world, for judgment, so that those who DO NOT SEE MIGHT SEE… and those WHO DO SEE MIGHT BECOME BLIND” (Jn 9: 39)

We need to ask ourselves:
“What is the direction of my Spiritual Life…
… is it having an upward movement, towards faith and trust?
… or is it having a downward movement, towards, scepticism and unbelief?”

St Paul says, that we need to “live as children of Light, for Light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth” (Eph 5:8-9)

We need to also remind ourselves of the mind of the Lord, as revealed in 1st Book of Samuel: “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart!”(1 Sam 16:7)

The Lord, in our every day of life, uses a number of occasions – pleasant and unpleasant situations – to “reveal His glory”

Do we remain open to His Light in order to have an upward movement into deeper faith and trust?
… or do we get closed in darkness and thus make a downward movement into deeper scepticism and unbelief?

Today is Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent

Laetare in Latin, means “To rejoice!”

This Sunday is a liturgical pause of joy (‘Rejoice!’) amid our penitential journey…

Its rose-colored vestments, lighter tone, and readings of hope signal…
… that even in Lent, the Church calls us to rejoice in the coming salvation of Christ
… and to prepare, with greater zeal, the Light breaking into our darkness.

On this Laetare Sunday, as we once again renew our Lenten commitment and resolutions…
… let us not remain chained in ignorance and darkness, resisting the Truth.

Instead, allow ourselves to be led into the light and thus “feel blessed” in having encountered Jesus, the Sun!

God Bless! Live Jesus!