April 3, 2011 – 4th Sunday in Lent

1 Sam 1:6-7, 10-13 Eph 5:8-14 Jn 9:1-41

I remember quite shocking news that I received soon after finishing graduate school while I was in my 40s. I worked at a retreat center and began having trouble seeing the writing on the computer screen. For a while, I moved the screen to a closer position so that I could see more distinctly, but I got eye strain doing this. My next thought was that something was wrong with the screen. So, I worked with another screen and found the same problem. It didn’t dawn on me that something was wrong with my eyes until the IT tech told me that my screen was perfectly clear and maybe I needed glasses! For someone who had never worn glasses in her life, the very idea that my eyes were less than optimal had never occurred to me.

Today’s readings address issues of seeing. In first Samuel God tells the prophet that none of Saul’s strong, rugged and good looking boys were going to be the next king. Instead, puny, adolescent David, the youngest, was going to be king because “the Lord does not see as humans see; the human looks on outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.” So, right away, we are reminded that external appearances do not tell us much about the quality of a person’s character.

In Ephesians, St. Paul reminds us that we are now living in the light, whereas, before knowing Christ we walked in darkness. The true light that enables us to know what is pleasing to God is Christ, so if we want eternal life, we do well to pay attention to the Light of the world and make sure we are in Him so that we do not stumble for lack of sight.

The reading from John’s gospel illustrates the importance for Christians to live in Christ most whole heartedly. The main lesson in this story is about blindness, both physical and spiritual blindness. John’s gospel juxtaposes the physically blind man with the spiritually blind faith leaders of his day. The man, who knew he was blind from birth, is adamant that Jesus has really cured him. Then when Jesus returns to talk with him, the blind man’s spiritual needs are also met. When he understands that Jesus is the messiah, the once-blind man falls down and worships Him. Contrast that with the so-called spiritual people who believe that they are already sighted, yet cannot see that Jesus is the messiah. Even when Jesus spoke with the spiritual people, they cling to the books of Moses and refuse to open themselves to Jesus. In the end, Jesus tells his audience, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind…If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

Ah, how blind are those who will not see! Jesus is talking about those who refuse to acknowledge what is right before their eyes, namely, that Jesus is the Light of the World. He is the Son of God who came to reveal God to us and teach us how to be faithful to Him. This gospel reading gives great comfort for those who wholeheartedly follow Jesus, but it provides no reassurance for those who half-heartedly do so.

All week I have been praying with the gospel asking God to reveal to me the ways that I do not fully open myself to Jesus and the Good News. I’ve been thinking about all of us who profess to be Christians, yet do not allow the demands of the gospel to influence how we do business or politics. I’ve wondered how seriously we take Jesus’ command to love others as ourselves when we deal with unsafe drivers, the homeless or drug addicts. Even with the current military efforts in Libya, I’ve struggled with how our actions there demonstrate Jesus’ command to love our enemies. And as we watch Japan’s efforts to control a nuclear meltdown, I wonder how Jesus would instruct us about nuclear power in our own country.

Seeing through Jesus’ values is a struggle. This gospel invites Christians to take a look at where we have surrendered their lives completely to Jesus and where they still live in sin. Perhaps a song from 1985 might enlighten our meditation this week. Phlipp & The Woo Team wrote the song where they put it this way:

There are none so blind
As those who will not see
So it logically follows
At least it seems to me
That there are none so deaf
As those who will not hear
There are none so cowardly
Than those who will not fear
There are none so mute
As those who will not talk
There are none so cripple
As those who will not walk
There are none so young
As those who will not age
There are none so wise
Than he who is not a sage
The one who cannot write
Is the one who will not read
And there are none so starving
As those who will not feed.

Let us open our eyes, our ears, our hearts to the full gospel message.