Light and Darkness"

Today's Mass Readings

The incident that John narrates is not a simple account of healing. It is an account of people who are physically in darkness and yet they see, and the account of those who are physically in the light but really are in darkness. There are those who are naturally blind and there are those who have turned away from the light. The blind man comes to Jesus to have his sight restored. But apart from his sight, it is his faith, it is his life that is restored in a slow process. Once again as in the story of the Samaritan woman last week, there is, in the life of this blind man a slow discovery of God. When he was being questioned by the Pharisees, he first says, “The man called Jesus make clay and anointed my eyes” (Jn 9:11). When they asked him again, he said, “He is a prophet” (Jn 9:17). When the authorities accused Jesus of being a sinner, the blind man said, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see” (Jn 9:25). Finally, Jesus himself meets him and asks him if he believed in the Son of Man. The blind man confesses, “I do believe Lord” (Jn 9:38). Now he really is in the light. He sees and he sees. He sees things but he also sees the light of God and the life that God brings.

In contrast, are the Pharisees who can see but don’t see. They are so blind with prejudice, so blind with hatred, so blind at the thought of losing power, so blind to a new message, so blind to Jesus good works, so, so blind, that they cannot feel happy about a good thing that has happened. They are so blind that they miss God. They are so blind that they so not even recognize a miracle.

In today's second readings, Paul encourages the Ephesians to “Live as children of light for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth” (Eph 5:8). The implication of making Christ the undisputed Lord of our lives should show in our producing “every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth.” In other words, our faith in Christ must turn into action at every time and at every place, in our thinking, in our talking and in our actions. We are in the light, when our thoughts, talk, and action, produces goodness, righteousness (right relationship with God, others, self), and truth.

This is the fourth Sunday in Lent. Are we moving toward the light? Are we striving to live in accordance with the life, values, and teachings of Jesus? Are we striving to make our lives like that of Jesus? What are our values? What are out preoccupations? In the final analysis what role does Jesus play in our lives?

- Fr. Satish