Sunday 19th March 2023 Fourth Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday

1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13/ Psalm 22(23)/ Ephesians 5:8-14/ John 9:1-41

Those of us of a certain age may remember a popular song from around 1970. Everything is Beautiful written and sung by Ray Stevens. Stevens was known mostly for novelty songs but this one was much more serious and although it contained direct references to Jesus and his love for all people it became popular all around the world and got as far as number six in the UK music charts. It is difficult to imagine such a Christian based song being so readily accepted these days although the principals of equality it speaks of are those society still aspires to.

The reason I mention this song is because of the words of one of the verses. It goes,

‘There is none so blind as those who will not see. We must not close our minds; we must let our thoughts be free’.

These lines originate from an ancient proverb which itself appears to be based on the Old Testament book of Jeremiah which goes, ‘Now listen to this, stupid and thoughtless people – they have eyes and do not see, they have ears and do not hear!’ The message is simple with the universal meaning that understanding of an issue cannot be forced on someone who chooses to be ignorant. In a society that seems to be increasingly polarised, arguments and disagreements are distilled down to basic yes, no, black, white, right, or wrong concepts leaving little room for discussion or debate. We are either on one side or another, deemed either right or wrong depending on what side of the fence we find ourselves. Life is just not that simple and we must remain open to the possibility that we might be wrong or that some issues do not have simple yes or no answers.

In the gospel reading we encounter examples of those who are not physically blind but are spiritually blind to what is occurring in front of them and a physically blind man who has his physical and spiritual sight given to him. Those who could see restricted their understanding of what they saw and became increasingly ignorant of God’s presence in their midst. The blind man became increasingly aware of who Jesus is and eventually worshipped him.

The people who knew the blind man could not believe he had been cured. They took him to their religious leaders who should have been on the lookout for the long-promised messiah. Instead, their own lack of belief blinded them to being open to the possibility that the messiah they had been promised had finally appeared amongst them. They focused on the fact that Jesus had apparently broken the rule of not working on the sabbath by making a paste to cure the man’s affliction. While the man born blind from birth gained his sight and then gradually came to an understanding of who Jesus is, the Pharisees were blind to the very thing they should have been first to realise. Jesus was the long-promised messiah, but the Pharisees saw him as a sinner for breaking their religious rules and could not accept that this nobody of an itinerant preacher could be of any consequence. It clearly puzzled them that someone they deemed to be sinful could work such a miracle. They questioned the man and his parents but could not accept what had happened.

The cured man accepted Jesus for what he had done and spoke up for him under considerable provocation from those in authority. He simply stood up for the truth while they avoided it at all costs. The Pharisees had too much power and influence to lose if they accepted Jesus so they embarked on a mission to make him unworthy by twisting the truth that was in front of their eyes. Honesty and transparency can become lost when vested interests are at stake. We see that everywhere in our world today. Positions are defended not out of conviction but because there is too much to lose.

It can be useful when reading scripture to try and put yourself into the place of one of the people there, either one of those named or a bystander. When I do this with today’s gospel passage I can be quite disconcerted. Would I accept Jesus for who he is, or would I be like the Pharisees and reject him as an uneducated upstart who is disregarding the rules and regulations I try to follow so closely?

Our faith has to be more than simply following a set of rules, it is about a relationship, a relationship with our God who became one of us so that he could be close to us and we could be close to him. We will not be able to develop this relationship if we are blind to Jesus amongst us. We need to allow Jesus to open the eyes of our faith so that we, like the man in the gospel, can come to the realisation of who Jesus is and what it is he wants from us.

As people of faith we must listen to the voice of God spoken through scripture, through his church on earth and the Holy Spirit speaking through the graces we receive in the sacraments. We must not choose to be blind, we must open our eyes and our ears and let our thoughts be free to the actions of the Holy Spirit. This is how we will come to know who Jesus is and how to respond to him.

The season of Lent helps us to accomplish an openness to God’s presence amongst us. Through our prayer and fasting we can better focus on the importance of our faith. On this fourth Sunday of Lent the Church gives us Laetare Sunday. Laetare means rejoice and today we are given the chance, in the middle of our penitential journey, to glimpse the joy of Easter to come. As we approach the darkness and horror of Good Friday and Holy Saturday today helps us to see beyond that to the wonder of Easter Sunday and all that the resurrection promises for us.

God Bless Brendan.