April 3, 2011 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
3 APRIL 2011, 5:15, 8:00, 10:30
READINGS: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
SAINT MARY PARISH, VIROQUA
Introduction: Last Sunday the Israelites in the desert and the woman at the well were about thirst. They satisfied their thirst only in the living waters brought by Jesus. Thirst and water! This week the readings are all about light, about seeing with the eyes and the heart.
1. When Samuel is picking the new king of Israel from the sons of Jesse he looks to the wrong son. God directs him to young David. “Not as man sees does God see; because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” But notice in the gospel reading the evolution of the sight of the man cured by Jesus. Jesus makes a paste for his eyes; then he tells him to go wash in the pool and he will be cured. He does what Jesus asks, and he can see. He’s not done yet, though. When people ask him how this happened, he replies, “The man they call Jesus cured me.” The Pharisees question him; he says “Jesus is a prophet.” Further in the argument he says, “He is from God.” Then, he meets Jesus again. Jesus acknowledges that he is the Son of Man. Then, the man once blind says, “Lord, I believe.” He went from not seeing Jesus at all to calling him a man, to calling him prophet, to saying he is from God; in the end he acknowledges Jesus as Lord. This is a story about more than curing blindness; it is a story about a man learning to see with the heart.
2. The man’s blindness clearly offended Jesus. He wanted him to enjoy rainbows, purple and orange sunsets, wild flowers, the night sky. Everyday awareness has two points. For example, I (that’s 1) see a bird (that’s 2). The Catholic way of looking at reality has three points to it. I (that’s 1) see a bird (that’s 2), and through this interaction I become aware of the dimension of mystery in this world (that’s 3). Yes, everything can lead us to mystery. Every creature is sacred for those who know how to see. A little girl was walking with her father one night. She looked up at the sky and said, “Daddy, if this side of heaven is so beautiful, imagine how lovely is the other side.”
3. And yet, and yet there is still more to see. Like the blind man we too should evolve in our ability to see. Gratefully, we see with our eyes. Thankfully, we can see the wonder in things. We must also strive to see the source of that wonder, the Lord. With truly good sight we will see with the eyes of faith; we will see how much God loves us. We will see his will for us. Maybe we will see like the saints; maybe even like the martyrs came to see him. Maybe we will see like Maximilian Kolbe starving to death in a concentration camp out of love for God and his neighbor. Maybe we will see like Dorothy Day who poured out her life for the poor. Maybe we will see a path for us to walk we had not previously seen, a path that leads to fuller union with God.
Conclusion: Like the man born blind we should make progress in our vision. Christ the Light of the World wants to enlighten the lives of each one of us.