FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT March 19, 2023

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

“I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, ANYONE WHO FOLLOWS ME WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE.”

Light and darkness, sight and blindness are the contrasting images in the Scripture Readings of this Sunday. The central message is that Christ heals our spiritual blindness in our Baptism and makes us witnesses of the truth. The verse before the Gospel introduces the central point of our celebration, “I am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will have the light of life.” The entire liturgy today therefore, celebrates the mystery of Christ - the light of the world; the light that dispels the darkness of our minds and our hearts; the light that draws us to walk out of the shadow of our sins. In Jesus we are elevated into a new life. As the man born blind received a new capacity, a new way of experiencing the world, so, too, we receive a new capacity for a deeper way of life, to come to experience the familiar world around us in the unfamiliar light of Jesus, who is forever the Light of the World. 

So, as we consider the Scripture Readings of today, let us look at what in our lives is darkness, the places where we are blind and try to shed light on them. Are we blind to the sufferings and needs of our neighbour? Do we show prejudice in our daily dealings with people? Do we ignore or put into a dark place the things that we might have influence on to help others? Even though we have become light, we still must choose to put forth that light, to help others, to be a light for others. We must make sure that our community of believers is supported and that we show our love to each other. And this is the Good News makes of today. 

Fr. Terry