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Fourth Sunday of Lent
Today's Scripture
I cannot help but comment that the story of the blind man in today's gospel reading sounds like a television soap; Intrigue, deception, villainous plots, threats and gossip … its all there. If only we could bring the adulterous woman from John 8 into this story this would be perfect show.
Humor aside, this story of the blind man can be approached from multiple perspectives and it would offer totally different lessons for our lives. For example, we could study the various characters in the story – the blind man, the parents of the blind man, Jesus, the opponents of Jesus – and draw conclusion that have implications for us. We could also study the development of the faith of the blind man in Jesus. He goes through multiple stages of perception of Christ before he confesses Christ as the Messiah.
However, today I am inclined to approach this story from the context of a phrase in today’s first reading. The prophet Samuel is sent by God to Bethlehem to identify the man who would replace Saul as the king of Israel. Jesse’s seven very worthy sons are paraded before Samuel, before David, the youngest of brothers is brought before him. In fact, it almost seems that the decision to bring David before Samuel is an afterthought. Every time Jesse’s thinks that he has found the right brother to be king, God says, “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7) David is the one who is anointed with oil that day.
“The Lord looks into the heart!” I would like to offer three practical implications of this statement for us today.
a) Unlike the many people who are healed by Jesus, the blind man was not brought to Jesus by someone else neither did he himself cry for help. Rather, it was Jesus who saw him. Perhaps, as the first reading says, God saw his heart. How lucky for this man! Of all the people who were around Jesus, this blind man experienced healing for his eyes and healing for his soul. By the end of the story, this man not only sees with his eyes but with his heart. He saw the salvation and God was offering him through Jesus, the Christ.
Practical implication. Have you ever wondered whether of all the people you know, why is it that you have faith in God? Why is it that you know Jesus? Often, we think of our faith as a choice we have made for God and Jesus. But the story of the blind man in today’s gospel tells us that God sees us before we notice God. Faith is not our choice for God – it is God’s choice of us. During this week, please think about the implication of this realization for yourself. What does it mean for me to know that God has taken notice of me; that God has given me the gift of faith; that God has opened the eyes and my heart to Jesus?
b) The blind has two realizations during this healing process. The first realization comes when the confrontational Pharisees repeatedly questioned the healed man about Jesus, in frustration he said, “If he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” (Jn 9:25) He was reporting a physical realization – that he was healed of his blindness. As readers we know that even though the healed man sees with his eyes, it is only at the end of the passage when he acknowledges Jesus as the Savior that he sees from his heart. It is now that his eyes are really opened. This is his more important realization.
Practical Implication. It is not enough for a Christian to know that God notices him or her. It is not enough for us to know that God looks into our hearts. It is important for God to know what our heart sees as well. Here is bread and wine. What does the eye see? “Bread and Wine?” What your does the heart see? “Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world!” We heard scriptures being read. What does the ear hear? Human words? What does the heart hear? “Salvation!” Like the blind man who worshipped Jesus when he saw from his heart, we must worship from our heart. It is important that we confess before God what we see from the heart.
c) St Paul’s words in today’s second reading, “Live as children of light,” can have a very different meaning if we interpret it from the perspective of the heart. Living like the children of the light means that God’s heart and my heart can come to the same conclusion about the same thing. The union of God’s heart and our hearts is for us to be in the light.
Practical Implication. It is possible that this week there will be many times when we will find our hearts and God’s heart at odds. Blindness and darkness leads many people to resentment, to envy, to lust, to porn, to addictions, to lack of compassion, to self-centeredness. But Christ comes to us in this Eucharist and looks into our heart - not to condemn us but to open our the eyes of our heart; to let God’s light shine; to make us children of the light; to make our hearts one with God.
Today, we are here in the presence of Jesus in the same way the blind man was in the presence of Jesus. Let us allow Christ to open the eyes and our hearts. And like the blind man, with open eyes and hearts worship him as Lord. Amen
Fr. Satish Joseph
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