JESUS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!

(Homily for the 4^th Sunday of Lent, Year A)

     Christianity right from its inception has been presented with lots of paradoxes, and maybe that is the interpretative key of today’s readings. The Christian paradox should not be too strange to us, because we can say that it is even inherent in the revelation of God and his plan of salvation. The Christian God is both immanent and transcendent. He is the loving Father and the Just Judge. In the readings we encounter the paradoxes of appearance and reality, darkness and light etc. Thus, the theme that dovetails into the three readings is that of light and darkness. In the first reading, it is captured as a discernment process for the selection of a future king. Samuel serves as God’s agent, and it is from among the sons of Jesse that the king will be found. But the overriding question is: which one? In the Gospel Christ restored sight to the blind man, thus, the man passed from an existence in darkness to an existence in the light, both physically and spiritually. St. Paul equally captured this theme in the second reading, for the Ephesians who once lived in darkness have become light as opposed to the pagans who still live in darkness. As such, the spirituality of Lent calls us to be agents of light in order to dispel the darkness of sin in our hearts and in the world. Let his healing light shine and radiate in our world!

     In the first reading (1Sam. 16:1.4. 6-7.10-13) as King Saul failed to recognize God’s light and power to enlighten and save him from his enemies, God used David to replace him. Certainly, God saw in David what his father and brothers could not and did not see: “A man after God’s own heart who delighted in doing what was pleasing to the Lord” (1Sam. 13:14;  Acts 13:22). Under human category, when there is an important task or responsibility, is logical to choose a person that is more prepared with many capacities. But God in today’s first reading teaches us that his logic, his yardstick is different from man’s. Little wonder, he chose the little one, who does not count under human rating, not even in his own family. According to the Midrashim, David was not permitted to eat with the rest of his family, but was assigned a separate table in the corner. He was given the task of shepherding animals, with the hope that wide beasts would devour him, and for this reason he was sent to pasture in dangerous places full of lions and bears (cf. 1Sam. 17:34-36). In fact, when we go to Psalm 69, we see the peak of David’s plight, “I am a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to the sons of my mother” (Ps. 69:9). Indeed, it took twenty-eight good years for God to rescue David from the hatred of his father and brothers. And God reversed the order, from the least to the greatest, from a shepherd to a warrior, from a boy to a King! This is what God does, for his parlance is different from man’s. To God the essential is visible, because he looks at the heart and not on appearance. For this, he told Samuel, “take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him” (1Sam. 16:7).

     Let us make Few considerations on David: ●He was marginalized and with little or  no consideration from the father and the brothers, for he was sent alone to shepherd the animals in the bush, the youngest who supposed to be in the house, but he was sent to the bush with animals. No body thought of him as king in his family, but God did. ●Even when the father was presenting his children he almost forgot him, because he was small and insignificant, but before God he matters a lot, He is Special and Chosen. The essential is indeed invisible to the human eyes. ●Even Samuel wanted to look at human categories and appearance, But God told him: “You should not look with favor on his face, nor on the height of his stature… For man sees those things that are apparent, but the Lord beholds the heart” (1Sam. 16:7). David was smallish in their eyes, but the heart of David in the sight of God is so big and great, not only that, David “had ruddy cheeks, with fine eyes and an attractive appearance” (1Sam. 16:12). ●Most probably their father Jesse had earlier organized his three eldest sons to follow Saul to war (1Sam. 17:13), may be with the hope of succession by one of them, David was left in the bush. Even when their father sent him to go and see how his brothers were fairing at the war front, and on arriving there he saw his people intimidated by the giant Goliath, when he was asking people what was going on, his eldest brother Eliab got angry and questioned him “why have you come down here?” (1Sam. 17:28). But God had a plan for him. Upon these considerations, we see that there is something similar and common between the story of David and the man born blind: their long-suffering, God’s intervention and the fact that God looks at the heart and not on appearance.

     This pericope of the Gospel of St. John (Jn. 9:1-41) is one of the most dramatic, full of vitality and replete with ideas. Symbolically, through the miracle of the man born blind Jesus wants to demonstrate that he can give sight not just to those that are physically blind, but spiritual sight through faith. By that he demonstrates to be the light of the world. In order to understand the miraculous episode of the ninth chapter of the gospel of St. John, we need to go back to the preceding chapter where the evangelist made reference to two important factors: ►The solemn affirmation of Jesus: “I am the light of the world; who follows me does not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). ►The long polemics where Jesus encountered the most hostile opposition of the Jews. The cause of closing themselves in the dark, the rejection of the light by the pharisees can be traced to: ●Prejudice: in the measure Christ for them cannot be the Messiah, superior to Moses, Abraham and the prophets, it doesn’t correspond to their conception of Messiah. ●Personal interest: that’s the fear of being threatened in the positions of power and prestige. Christ was really for them an uncomfortable figure. ●Presumption: they believed to be seeing, they believed to be just, while they were “blind and blind guides.” In fact, the real blind person is one who thinks that he sees and that he knows all, one who doesn’t question himself and his ideas. These three factors (prejudice, personal interest and presumption) are often the reasons of incredulity of the contemporary man, they are in connection with indifference, rejection of the light and obstinacy. This is self condemnation to spiritual darkness.

     In this contest therefore, the healing of the man born blind is a sign, a proof and a confirmation that Christ is truly the Light. He makes both the eyes and the spirit to see, he gives the eyes the capacity to see material things, and the spirit the capacity of penetrating the supernatural world with the light faith. The evangelist tells us that “Jesus saw the man that was born blind”, he saw a blind beggar, an invisible and insignificant person, under social rating, yet Jesus sees him. Jesus sees, he sees our condition, he sees our difficulties, even those that are invisible to the eyes of man. Even though others have been seeing this man, and maybe have been passing by. There is something different in the seeing of Jesus. Jesus sees him and stops. Without being called or begged like the blind Bartimaeus (Lk. 18:35-43), Jesus took the initiative. Jesus did not pass him by, for Jesus every encounter has a purpose. This is also true for us, he sees us as we are, he sees us in our misery and existential challenges, so no need to panic. He will not pass us by.

     In that encounter, as we have seen, the first sight of Jesus does not go towards sins, but always on the sufferings of the person. Again we see the human logic in action: the disciples that have been walking with Jesus, at first, search for the sins, and they asked: “Who sinned, him or his parents?” (Jn. 9:2). They search for the sin to justify the blindness. Jesus does not pass judgement, rather he goes close to him. And without being asked for anything by the blind man, he mixed his saliva with the mud and robbed it on his eyes. And told him to go and wash himself in the pool of Siloam. The blind man confided on his walking stick and on the words of this unknown man. He trusted even when the miracle has not taken place, when he was still seeing only darkness all around him. He went to the water and came back with his sight in tact. It was Julius Caesar that said the famous phrase “I came, I saw, I conquered”, but this trilogy changed in the case of the man born blind, when he was asked how his eyes were opened (Jn. 9:11), he answered “I WENT, I WASHED, I SAW.”

     This is the second time that Jesus is healing on a Sabbath, and instead of rejoicing, there is sadness. For the Pharisees the human person is not important, rather the law. They refused to care about the blind man that gained his sight, rather they are worried about their sound doctrine (Some of us are like the Pharisees at times). Several questions were asked: who healed him? Why? Why on a sabbath? Many are the actors: the crowd, the pharisees, his parents, the disciples etc. But he is the only protagonist, the blind man that regained his sight. First he described Jesus a man, later a prophet and at the end as the son of God. Faith indeed is a progressive illumination, step by step. At last, the blind man could see well with the eyes and with the heart. His neighbors and those that have seen him before where saying, is he not the one? Some where saying “Is he”, others are saying is one that resembles him. And he was saying “Is me”. He was taken to the pharisees and they questioned him, on how he gained his sight. He narrated the story of his healing to them. For God is public. We too, will recount God’s goodness and miracles even before our enemies. Fidelity to Jesus and his words have to become a public witness. Little wonder, my spiritual director back in the years once said that “God is public”. He is public in the measure we are always ready to bear witness to Christ, even when it means suffering marginalization and persecution. This courageous fidelity to Christ and perseverance in the faith is at the basis of the spirituality of lent.

     There and then, they began a trial for Heresy, and the man from a miracled man became an accused. But Jesus continued his proclamation of the Good news, he tries to unify the God of life and the God of doctrines. The trials coming from the Pharisees strengthened the miracled blind man, we see this in the progress of his faith. At first he says “the man called Jesus…” (Jn. 9:11), then he calls him a prophet (Jn. 9:17), and later he says that Jesus is from God (Jn. 9:33). The interrogation of the pharisees became salutary for his faith. While his parents were afraid to witness for Jesus before the pharisees, “we do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him…(Jn. 9:21).  At the second time of meeting Jesus he proclaimed his faith in Christ (Jn. 9:38; cf Jn. 9:35-38). Let the question of Jesus re-echo and resound deep in our hearts: “Do you believe in the Son of man?” Personally, I believe and I worship Him, what of you?

     To help someone in need is to manifest the glory of God and that is what Jesus did. But for the Pharisees the glory of God is the observance of the law, this is unimaginable. Thus, we are invited to be sensitive to the needs of others. For the glory of God is manifested in a man that is freed and liberated, a beggar that regains his dignity and freedom, a blind man that sees. Sometimes we are blind of our sinfulness and our need of God’s mercy. Every miracle of Jesus has some pedagogical imports for us, that is, it has something to teach us. This miracle teaches us that Jesus came to heal our spiritual blindness. Lent is indeed, a miraculous occasion for us to go to the pool of Siloam to wash off our infirmities and spiritual blindness and the Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of those occasions.

     In the second reading (Eph. 5:8-14) St. Paul reawakens in us the consciousness of what Christ did for us. He emphasizes that God through Christ, from darkness, he made us to become light, and gives us faith, so that all our life and existence will be immersed in Him. “For you were darkness, in times past, but now you are light, in the Lord. So then, walk as sons of the Light” (Eph. 5:8); this entails always in the words of St. Paul to work “with goodness, justice and truth” (Eph. 5:9), “to search for what pleases God” (Eph. 5:10), and not only, but also condemning openly “the unfruitful works of darkness” (Eph. 5:11), that is evil and sin. One is light, and is in the light, only when he acts uprightly, according to the exigencies of truth, justice and love; which are essential values of the kingdom of God. Interestingly, St. Paul invites us to denounce and condemn openly every form of evil and injustice that tempt to destroy our social, political, economical and christian life. Let us appropriate St. Paul’s advice to the Romans thus: “Let us give up all things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime” (Rom 13:12).

     In all, a christian has the special grace of being illuminated by the light of God, through faith. Baptism is the sacrament of that “illumination”, because infusing in the soul the virtue of faith, it renders it suitable for receiving the supernatural truth. However, it is worthy to note that even though faith is a supernatural gift, it requires a continuous search, continuous deepening. In the realm of faith one has to grow, mature and progress continuously, there is no final stage. More still, conversion, or turning to God, is an on-going event. Jesus is for ever on this earth saying to us, "Now is the time," and so there is no standing still. Faith however, does not exclude challenges, trials and moments of obscurity. Beloved friends no matter what your situation is now, an encounter with Jesus will change your story, David suffered in the hands of men and ferocious animals for twenty-eight years, before God’s plan for him manifested. The man born blind suffered in darkness for many years before he met Jesus. Child of God, no matter what your situation is at this present time, I have a message for you today: God has a plan for you! Jesus will not pass you by, He will see you and stop and your light will shine! May the Lord give us light and spiritual insight!! Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)