Lent Week 4 - Light

Week 4: March 19, 2023
Fourth Sunday of Lent

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Psalms 23:1-6; Ephesians 5: 8-14; John 9: 1-41

Today’s gospel is a commentary on an assertion Jesus made earlier: I am the Light of the World. (John 8:12)

There is so much in this story of the man born blind. The disciples asked Jesus who in the man’s family sinned in order to cause this affliction for him. Jesus replies that the man’s blindness is not a result of sin. It is the human condition. Jesus cures him and the man sees for the first time. What a wonderful and miraculous change! Yet, so many who know him deny the change in the man. The most baffling part about this story is the attitude of the people around him—the Pharisees who did not believe that he was really blind, and his parents who would not stand up for their son for fear of being ostracized from the temple and their community. Jesus was pointing out that the sin was not in the blindness but in the refusal to look deeper into one’s life, see the sin, and then be willing to change.

We celebrate the second scrutiny on this fourth Sunday of Lent, and the catechumens progress, like the man born blind, from darkness to light, from unbelief to belief. This gospel reminds them and all the baptized that all will have to testify to their faith at the risk of being rejected by some or ignored by others.

Discover

This Sunday we will hear about darkness and light. Reflect on the moments of light and dark in your own life and prepare to hear these moments addressed in the readings.

Go Deeper

Invite each member of your family to draw a timeline of his or her life. On the timelines, ask family members to identify significant moments in their lives, especially their life of faith. Invite each person to reflect upon who Jesus was to him or her at each significant moment. How has each person’s relationship with Jesus changed or matured? Then read together today’s Gospel, John 9:1-41. Note how the relationship between Jesus and the man born blind changes and grows throughout the Gospel. Pray together that your relationship with Jesus will continue to grow and develop, becoming ever deeper. Conclude by praying together the Lord’s Prayer.

Experience It

Contact the Xavier Society for the blind and learn what resources are available for those who are visually impaired in your community or family.  

This week, make a deliberate effort to “see” Christ in other people and in situations in your life, your family, at work, or in the news, and jot these instances down in a journal. Spend time reflecting on the encounters to form a “habit of seeing” and responding to the Lord.

A reflection on light: Psalm 139