AND I WASHED AND I CAN SEE

HOMILY FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A

1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13        Ephesians 5:8-14        John 9:1-41

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Today we celebrate Laetare Sunday. Laetare means ‘rejoice!’. Laetare Sunday is so-called from the incipit “Rejoice, O Jerusalem” of the Introit of the Mass (cf. Is 66:10). The 4^th Sunday of Lent is traditionally a day of celebration within the austere period of Lent - a bright day of hope that Easter is at last within sight. It is also a day dedicated to mothers. There was a long-standing tradition that people in domestic service could go home on this particular Sunday to visit their mothers. That’s why we call it ‘Mothering Sunday’ (or “Mothers’ Day” if you’re in the States). Servants were given light relief from their duties in order to go and see their mothers.

Now we are in a position to understand why today’s readings are based around the prophetic challenge drawn from the symbolism of light - the light that shines, the light that facilitates visibility, hope and joy. In the Second Reading (Ephesians 5:8-14) St. Paul gives us guidance about how to be liberated from darkness. Living as children of light produces every kind of goodness and virtue within us. The First Reading (1 Samuel 16:1, 6-6, 10-13) tells of the anointing of David, of his formal anointing as king of Israel, which initiated his mission to restore the light of hope to the people of God. In the Gospel (John 9:1-41), Jesus declares Himself to be the Light of the world and restores the sight of a man born blind. In so doing, Jesus liberated the man from physical and spiritual blindness and brought him deep joy, a joy which is only to be found in life in Christ, the Light.

The man born blind is presented as a well-known local figure. The belief at the time was that illness was a punishment for sin. In affirming that the man’s blindness was not due to sin, either his own or his parents’ sin, Jesus gave the people to understand that this man was suffering from his affliction in order to give an opportunity to show the power of God. The blind man was ‘anointed’ with the paste and was ordered to wash himself clean in a specific place. He obeyed the instruction in full, and his sight was restored. The man’s perceptions of Jesus developed in three stages; he perceived Jesus initially as just a man, secondly as a prophet, and thirdly as the Son of Man, the Christ. In standing his ground regarding his evidence of his experience of Jesus, despite aggressive interrogation by local people, neighbours and Pharisees, his eyes were opened to who Jesus actually was. His reward was the gift of faith and the grace of eternal life. From Jesus he received new hope and strength in God. We too can receive these gifts when we remain steadfast and courageous in defence of the faith.

The gift of faith – having our eyes opened to who Jesus really is, instead of being spiritually blind like the unbelievers in the Gospel passage - is what St John the Evangelist wants to convey to us. In St. John’s Gospel, miracles are called ‘signs’. These ‘signs’ are the signs of the glory and power of God. Instances of suffering, sorrow, misery and pain are explained not as misfortunes but as opportunities for the demonstration of God’s grace and power. Our own fidelity to God and our trust in Him undergo severe testing when we encounter painful or difficult times in life. As people of faith, when we find ourselves blinded by worrying, even life-threatening situations such as we are going through now with the coronavirus, we should be comforted in the sense that such situations open our eyes to the omnipotence of God. Bad or challenging situations should not instil unhealthy fear of God in us but, rather, remind us of the comforting words of the Psalmist that ‘the Lord is our shepherd’ (cf. Ps 23:1).

The restoration of the sight of the blind man prompted split reactions from the people, the neighbours and the Pharisees. People took sides. Either they believed what the man said, or they didn’t. The man stuck to his story and didn’t waver in his evidence about what happened to him. He was passed from one group to another in an attempt to disprove the power of God in Christ. Those who did not accept the teaching of Christ (that the man’s physical blindness was not a result of being born in sin) became the blind ones. They remained in darkness, blind to Christ the Light of the world. They remained blind to the sign of who Jesus was, blind to the goodness of God’s miracle, and blind to the presence of the Messiah, the Christ. Entrenched in their positions, those who saw only with their physical eyes turned blind spiritually, and the one who was blind physically was given the gift to see both physically and spiritually. 

We need so much to come away today with our own ‘eyes’ opened and our sight restored by allowing the light of Christ to shine on us. The light of Christ will enable us to grow in our understanding of Him and to have our values in life made pure. Once our ‘eyesight’ has been restored, our perception of Jesus will change radically. This perception will heighten when we believe Jesus to be who He really is: The Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. It’s sadly true that, in human relationships, the more we come to know about someone, the more we become aware of their shortcomings. In our relationship with Jesus, however, the more we learn about Him, the more we become aware of how great He really is; the more we grow in our knowledge of Him, the more we become aware of how glorious He is; and the more intimately we get to know Him, the more we become aware of our own unworthiness and our weaknesses, and we become even more determined to overcome them. We surrender our entire selves to Him with a view to having our eyes opened and having His light suffuse our lives with dazzling brilliance. During this Lent, may our fasting, prayers and almsgiving help to open our eyes wide so that our values may be aligned with His. Amen. God bless you.