Commentary on the Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent
By Father Conrad Pecevich
Retired priest, Diocese of Worcester
Readings: Ephesians 5:8-14 and John 9:1-41
“Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.”
In his correspondence to the Ephesians, St. Paul plays upon the themes of darkness and of light. He exhorts his listeners: “You were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord.” The theme of light has dualistic tones, light being associated with goodness and godliness; darkness being associated with ignorance and sin. This is a similar theme that is employed in the Gospel of St. John. We were all once in darkness; however, the Spirit led us into the light of Christ. In effect, we are the light of Jesus Christ in this darkened world today. As we walk in the light, we are capable of bearing abundant fruit for the kingdom of God – goodness, righteousness and truth. Our vocation as light is a challenge to lead others to Christ. For he is “the true light which came into the world.” In our Gospel reading, Jesus says: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
St. Paul refers to us here as “children of light.” This acknowledges that God the Father is the author of all light. All light leads us to him. In the holy Scriptures, light is a sign of life. To have the light of Christ is to live the fullness of life. Hence, darkness is symbolic of death. In our ignorance and sin, we were spiritually dead. This light provides life for the pilgrim soul.
St. Paul challenges the believer: “Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness.” Darkness is death ... a dead-end road. Its fruits lead nowhere. The fruits of darkness hinder growth. They profit neither us nor the kingdom of God. However, they are always before us as temptation.
His exhortation, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead” acknowledges that in our selfishness and sin we are asleep – we are dead to God. The time is critical to awaken spiritually.
This selection from Ephesians ties in well with our Gospel reading. One is reminded that sin is blindness. Christ, the Light, desires to open our eyes to the wonder of God’s love and mercy. We are the blind men and women who wait for the healing touch of Jesus. The light that he gives enables us to see the power and wonders of God around us.
By Father Michael Lavallee
Pastor, St. Ann, Oxford
Gospel: John 9:1-41
In John 3:5, Jesus declares to his opponents, “I say to you, before Abraham came to be I AM.” This declaration caused his foes to pick “up stones to throw at him” because they believed that his words were blasphemous. By using the words “I AM,” Jesus identified himself as the God of ancient Israel who appeared to Moses in the burning bush in Exodus 3:14.
St. John’s account of Jesus healing the man born blind, in John 9:1-41, is a sign that Jesus is indeed I AM. Throughout the account, the themes of blindness and sight are prominent, as Jesus reveals that some of those who can physically see are actually spiritually blind whereas one with physical blindness comes to have the spiritual sight of faith.
The narrative begins with St. John’s description of Jesus seeing the man born blind. This “seeing” is both physical and spiritual. Jesus looks upon the man with love, as a child of God in need of healing and restoration. Yet, Jesus’ disciples misunderstand why the man is blind, asking the Lord whether it is the result of the man’s or his parents’ sin. Jesus makes it clear that his infirmity is not God’s punishment. Jesus suggests, in verse 3, that it has been allowed so that “the works of God might be made visible through him.”
For the first time, in verse 5, Jesus states that he is the “Light of the World” and proceeds to confirm this by giving the blind man the light of physical vision. Jesus’ enlightening of the man born blind also immediately sheds light onto his social situation of extreme deprivation and poverty. In verse 8, the man’s neighbor’s ask, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” This question shows that the man’s blindness had caused his economic disadvantage. Strangely, however, St. John notes, in verse 20, that the man had parents. Shouldn’t they have been taking care of him?
The way that the ancient Jews viewed illness and infirmity may explain why these parents failed in their responsibilities. In Martin Albl’s “Essential Guide to Biblical Life and Times,” the author explains that “biblical ideas concerning illness and disability cannot be separated from biblical concepts of holiness and purity … illness and disability are associated with impurity, sin, death, division and the profane.” Perhaps then, the man’s parents distanced themselves from him because his disability indicted them as sinners.
Throughout the narrative, St. John traces the faith-development of the man born blind by including how his spiritual sight got clearer until he came to full faith in Christ. In verse 11, the man identifies Jesus as a mere “man.” Later, in verse 17, the man publicly states his belief that Jesus is “a prophet.” Finally, in verse 38, the man calls Jesus “Lord” and worships him. Thus, although the man born blind is given God’s great gift of healing, there is a process involved in him coming to true faith in the one who healed him.
The passage concludes in verse 39 where Jesus states: “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see might see and those who do see might become blind.” Jesus’ judgment is operative in verse 40 where he implies that the Pharisees are blind and sinners.
During this time of illness and infirmity for so many, may St. John’s account of the man born blind give us confidence that Jesus is our healer and the Light of the World.