Happy Sunday!
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(1 Sam 16, 1b.4a.6-7.10-13a; Psalm 22; Eph 5, 8-14; John 9, 1-41: 4th Sunday of Lent, Year A, March 22, 2020)
The basic theme of this Sunday's liturgy is Jesus’ word: I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness ... (John 8,12). This theme is illustrated in today's Gospel, so to speak, by the episode where Jesus opens the eyes of a blind man from birth and by the story of the various reactions that develop around this event. The first reading does not have a direct relationship with the Gospel; however, one can see the reason for the spiritual light that the Lord gives to those who follow him. The second reading, on the other hand, speaks to us expressly of light: Once upon a time you were darkness, now you are light in the Lord, says Paul.
The first reading, the narrative of the anointing of David, serves to show that he is not a usurper; he is chosen by God. It is God who took the initiative. David is a shepherd. By vocation, kings are the shepherds of Israel. The anointing, a sign of God's taking possession of someone, makes David the anointed (Hebrew Messiah = Greek Christos) of the Lord. The Spirit takes over David; from now on, God will express himself through him when he wills.
The Gospel episode speaks of two types of blindness: there is the physical blindness of the blind man from birth, and there is the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees, who oppose Jesus, who is the light of the world. The gospel narrative begins with a question from the disciples about the man born blind: Rabbi, who sinned, he or his parents, why was he born blind? This question reflects a widespread belief that always establishes a connection between an illness and a previous sin. But when it comes to a man who is blind from birth, he cannot have sinned; then the parents would have sinned, and their guilt fell on their child. Jesus answers the question of the disciples unexpectedly: Neither did he sin, nor did his parents. For Jesus, this traditional way of retribution (linking illnesses and misfortunes as consequences of past faults) is not correct: an illness is not, necessarily, linked to a previous sin. According to Jesus, it is so that the works of God may manifest in him. The infirmities constitute an occasion for God to manifest his goodness. Our trials and sufferings are opportunities for him to manifest his love and mercy. Jesus says: We must do the works of the one who sent me as long as the day is on, and: As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Then he spits on the ground, mixes mud with his saliva, smears it on the blind man's eyes, and says to him: Go and wash yourself in the pool of Siloam (siloam means sent). For the Evangelist washing oneself in the pool of the Siloam, in effect signifies immersing oneself in the paschal mystery of Jesus. With baptism all Christians are washed in the pool and recover the sight they had lost because of sin. The blind man obeys Jesus: he goes to the swimming pool, washes himself, and gains his sight. Of course this fact arouses people's curiosity. They wondered if the blind man really was what they saw or if he was someone else who looks like him. But the blind man firmly states: It's me! ... The man named Jesus made mud, smeared my eyes and said: Go to Siloam’s pool and wash yourself! Then they lead the blind man to the Pharisees, to solve a problem. Jesus made this healing on the Sabbath day, and this was forbidden. This is not the only case where Jesus heals on the Sabbath day; the Gospel presents others to us (Luke 13,10-17; 14,1-6; John 5,1-16). Jesus knows that he must do the work of the Father, the work of mercy, even on a Sabbath. The Pharisees, on the other hand, had a narrow vision of religious practice and demanded a very careful observance of the Sabbath: nothing must be done on this day. Jesus did something that resembles a medical activity, and this is not admissible in their mentality. They did not notice that God is generous and does not forbid doing good on the Sabbath day. So they declared: This man does not come from God, because he does not observe the Sabbath. But how could one think that the healing of a blind man is a sin? The Pharisees then asked the blind man: What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes? He replies: He is a prophet! The blind man already manifests an initial faith in Jesus’ mission. The Jews do not want to believe that the man was blind and had acquired sight; therefore they questioned the parents, who say: We know that this is our son and that he was born blind; how he now sees, we don't know, we know not who opened his eyes; ask him, he is of age, he will talk about himself. As the evangelist points out, the parents were afraid of the Jews. Then the Jews again called the man who had been blind and say to him: Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner. The blind man has a simple but profound logic and replies: If he is a sinner, I don't know; I know one thing: before I was blind and now I see. Then he continues: We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is fearful of God and does his will, he listens to him. The blind man now sees clearly not only materially, but also spiritually. The most important thing is to clearly see spiritually. The blind can have a very beautiful Christian life. When Christians are enlightened internally, they can progress in their relationship with God, and thus have an existence that is worth living. Finally, Jesus meets the blind man, who has been driven out by the Pharisees, and asks him: Do you believe in the Son of man? The blind man, willing to believe, asks him: Who is he, Lord, so that I may believe in him? And Jesus replied: You have seen him: he who speaks with you is he himself. At this point the blind man makes a beautiful act of faith: I believe, Lord!, and he prostrates himself before Jesus, to manifest the depth of his faith. This blind man has been spiritually enlightened. His recovery was a first step for the gifts of God, which are more abundant than one would expect. With regret, Jesus declares: I have come to this world to judge, so that those who do not see will see and those who see will become blind. The Pharisees hear these words and say: Are we also blind? And Jesus replies: If you were blind, you would have no sin; but as you say, ‘We see’, your sin remains. These words of Jesus on the Pharisees are both a condemnation and an appeal to conversion. The Pharisees must recognise that they were blind and should desire healing; then the Lord can heal them; otherwise their situation is without remedy. This Gospel episode pushes us to desire physical and spiritual light. Without doubt, physical sight is a wonderful gift from God; but spiritual vision is even more important for our personal life.
In the first reading (the episode of the anointing of David as king of Israel) when Samuel's older, stronger and more beautiful brothers were presented to Samuel, the Lord said to the prophet: Do not look at appearance, nor to the grandeur of their stature. Physical vision is not enough to make a decision or to make a choice: a profound, spiritual vision is needed. God says: Man looks at appearance, the Lord looks at the heart. We must ask the Lord to give us this spiritual vision, to choose and decide well in all circumstances of life. We must not decide only on the basis of human appearances, economic factors, external, superficial elements, but on the basis of spirituality. We must do as the Lord did: he chose David as king, who was the smallest of all brothers and appeared fragile, therefore, as the least suitable for this task. In reality he had a profound spiritual wealth, and so he was more suitable than others to become king of Israel. In the second reading Paul speaks to us, in the same sense of spiritual light. He says to the Ephesians: Once upon a time you were darkness, now you are light in the Lord. Here we have an in-depth deepening of the theme of the Gospel: is it not enough to only receive light, but it is also necessary to become light. Jesus said to his disciples: You are the light of the world (cf. Matt 5, 13-16). The Christian's duty is not only to welcome the divine light into his life, but to also manifest it in his own behaviour. Therefore, Paul says: Behave like the children of light; the fruit of light consists in kindness, justice and truth. The Apostle invites us to reject the works of darkness, that is, what is done in the dark, because we are ashamed to do it and, therefore, try not to be seen. Instead, you have to do works that can be manifested to others, so that they too are enlightened. But in order to do this, we must receive the light from Christ's paschal mystery better and better. Paul exhorts us: Wake up, O you who sleep, awake from the dead and Christ will illuminate you. In these sentences we can see a hint to the paschal mystery of Jesus. He woke up from the dead after experiencing the passion and then is able to enlighten every man. He does not only illuminate man, but also makes him participate in his new life with a spiritual resurrection. Let us, therefore, walk towards Easter with this great hope of being ever more involved in the light and life of Christ, for the glory of God and for the good of the whole world. May we in today’s Eucharistic celebration be enabled, not only to receive the grace of the light of the risen Christ, but also to manifest it in our lives, in the family, places of work, Christian communities and the society at large. +John I. Okoye
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