FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
6 MARCH 2016
In
writing to the Christian community of Ephesus, Paul writes to us. He reminds us that we are light in the
Lord. When we passed through the waters
of Baptism, we were identified completely with Jesus Christ, the light of the
world. We were given lit candles as a
way of signifying that reality. Now
Saint Paul reminds us to live as children of light. If we live as children of the light, we
remain transparent and allow that light to shine through us. We have nothing to hide. What people see in us is what they get. That is true holiness.
Saint Paul
also reminds the Ephesians that they were once darkness before they passed
through the waters of Baptism. Notice
that he does not say that they were once IN darkness! They were darkness. The same is true for us. When we make bad choices that tear away or
disrupt the life which God gives us, we reveal our dark sides. The light of Christ cannot shine through us,
because we are opaque, too busy covering up those patterns of behavior that
bring us shame. We pile one set of lies
upon another to conceal the truth from others.
We cannot allow others to look into our eyes, because we are trying to hide
too many things.
The Season
of Lent invites us to examine the dark side of our lives. Today’s Gospel story of the man born blind
can help us to recover the light of Christ in our lives. Jesus does not condemn the man for being
blind. He sees his blindness as an
opportunity to reveal himself and show forth his light. He sends the man to wash (using the same
Greek word for baptize) in the Pool of Siloam.
As he is hassled by his neighbors and the religious leaders, the man
born blind trusts his experience of Jesus and sees more clearly who Jesus
really is. At first, he sees Jesus as a
man who has done an act of kindness to him.
Then, he sees him as a prophet who speaks the truth. Finally, after being thrown out (as many
early Christians had been thrown out of their synagogues), he sees Jesus as the
promised Christ and worships him.
We see this
same dynamic in those preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation today. At the 8:45 and 10:30 Masses, we call forward
the Elect for the second Scrutiny. Those
of us who have worked with them know that they have come to see more clearly
the person of Jesus Christ. They had
experienced the call of Christ in many ways before committing to RCIA. They have heard Christ speak to them when
they have joined us for the Liturgy of the Word at Mass. On Tuesday nights, they have reflected on the
teachings of the Catholic Church and in their own personal experiences of Jesus
Christ. As they kneel before us in this
second Scrutiny, we pray that darkness will not hinder them in these final
three weeks before the Easter Vigil. We
support them for them as they are sent to the waters of Baptism to have their
sins washed away. With candles lit, they
will show us the light of Christ shining through them.
We too were
transparent, completely one with Christ in holiness, when we emerged from the
waters of Baptism and held lit candles (or had our parents and godparents hold
lit candles for us). But, we have not
always lived our Baptismal promises. We
have made bad choices and clouded the transparency of our lives with the sins
that make us opaque. Like Samuel, we
have judged other people only by appearance.
Or we have excluded others because they have opinions contrary to our
own. We have not looked into their
hearts as God does. We have lapsed into
habits which cloud our vision and made us so opaque that the light of Christ
could not shine through us. In this
Second Scrutiny, the Elect invite us to admit our dark deeds and bring them to
the merciful fire of Christ’s love in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. With Christ’s light shining more brightly
through us, we can more honestly renew our Baptismal promises at Easter and
make a renewed commitment to live more as children of the light.
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