Samuel 16.1b,6-7,10-13a・Ps 23.2+3, 5, 6・Eph5.8-14・Jn 9.1-41
by Eeso
Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent. In today`s Mass, we offer the second of the three special prayer rites for Adult Christian Initiation. We continue to pray that they may also deepen their relationship with God, understand deeper the salvation brought about by the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, and deepen also their understanding of the unending presence of God through the indwelling of the God`s Spirit (the Holy Spirit) in our individual and community`s life. Just as our Gospel reading last Sunday about the “Water of Life” offered by Jesus to the Samaritan woman best explained about our Baptism in Christ, we have a very special lesson today about our Baptism in Christ that allows us to begin a completely new life in Him. In baptism, we experience the Light, who is Jesus. We realize that Jesus is the Light of the World.
Fourth Sunday of Lent is also called “Laetare Sunday” (Sunday of Rejoice – 喜びの主日). We rejoice because the abundance of God`s love who look at our hearts turns our sorrow and suffering to joy and peace.
(1) In our first reading, we are reminded of our very human approach on how we accept people in our lives. We often see/look at others, and judge, based on outer/physical appearances, and maybe on life`s status, land of origin and maybe skin color. We often create standards on how we recognize others on a very materialistic basis, and maybe somehow on how we gain from them. The Lord reminds Samuel that unlike human being, the Lord looks into the heart. We are called to express ourselves from the bottom of our heart and look at the heart of others. We will all become friends, and brothers and sisters not on material basis. At this early stage of our prayerful reflection, we are invited to heal our blindness so that in God`s healing power, we will be able to discard pride and indifference towards others who seem not meeting our standards that hardly goes beyond physical basis.
(2) In our Gospel reading today, we can see a similar intention of Jesus in talking with the Samaritan woman in our Gospel last Sunday. This time, it is in the context of healing a man born blind. A man recovering his sight came to a greater understanding of who Jesus is, and eventually believed in Him as Christ.
We thank God daily for the gift of sight. We know some people who were born blind, and we may also know of some who lost their sight. For many of us who can clearly see may find unimaginable for us to live conveniently without sight, and never wish to. We pray for our blind brothers and sisters.
Jesus, in our gospel today, confronts people and some Pharisees after healing the man who was born blind. Again, it was the best time for Jesus to speak about the blindness specifically of the Pharisees. The Pharisees may not have immediately understand what kind of blindness Jesus talking about. This confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees may be a very challenging assignment also for each one of us to ponder upon. Indeed, the more we say “We see”, the more we manifest that we do not actually see and understand what Jesus is talking about. He must be talking about our individual and community blindness to our long-time growing pride and indifference to people we consider not part of us, not part of our family and community. In this season of Lent, we may also consider reflecting about our understanding of what sin is. For most of us, it is easier to understand that sin is simply breaking the letter of the law or maybe breaking what we have agreed in basis of our individual and community selfish merits. May this sort of understand may not take over understanding sin as doing an unloving things like breaking and hurting people intentionally for our selfish motives.
(3) So our second reading emphasizes more on the Light of Christ that shines from our Baptism in Him. That is why we also call this Sunday as Sunday of Joy (喜びの日曜日)。Saint Paul is expressive to the Ephesians. Our faith tells us that our tendencies to choose darkness is lesser than the invitation to live as children of Light. Light produces goodness and generosity. If I may quote another bible verse to ponder upon from the letter of the same Paul to the Corinthians, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is seen is eternal. (2 Cor 4:18)”
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