FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
10 MARCH 2024
In his
Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul reminds them that they were once
darkness. Once they were baptized, their
identity was fundamentally changed. As
members of Christ’s Body, they are now light in the Lord. That light does not come from within them. It comes from their union with Jesus Christ,
the light of the world. It shines through
them when they keep their baptismal promises.
He warns them to live their identity and avoid slipping back into
darkness.
We do not
know the name of the man born blind from birth in today’s Gospel. However, he has spent his entire life in
darkness. Just as God had formed Adam
from the clay of the earth, Jesus makes clay out of his life-giving saliva and
rubs it on the man’s eyes. After being
sent to wash in the Pool of Siloam, he comes back able to see.
When the
disciples ask why the man was born blind, Jesus tells them that it does not
matter. What matters is that Jesus has made
him see. But then the man gets hassled. He tells his neighbors that he had been
blind, but that Jesus healed him. They
take him to the Pharisees, who argue with each other whether Jesus is from God
or not. Next, the Pharisees interrogate
his parents, who do not answer their questions for fear of being kicked out of
the synagogue. Next, he faces the harsh
interrogation of the Pharisees, who throw him out, because he insists that
Jesus must be from God. Finally, he sees
Jesus with his physical eyes. Jesus
reveals himself to this man who is no longer blind. His identity is fundamentally changed. He worships Jesus and becomes a person who is
able to see the truth about Jesus Christ.
At the
10:00 Mass, we celebrate the Second Scrutiny with our Elect, as they prepare to
receive the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. To use Saint Paul’s analogy, they had been darkness. They may have been able to see with their
physical eyes. But their eyes of faith have
been gradually opened during their yearlong formation to see the truth about
Jesus Christ. Once they are baptized, their
identity will be fundamentally changed.
They will become one with Christ to allow his light to shine through
them. In the Scrutiny, they are not
harshly interrogated in the way that the Pharisees grilled the man born blind. The celebrant calls them forward with their sponsors. He prays over them and lays his hands on their
heads. The Scrutinies are celebrated in
order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them
from temptations, and give them strength in Christ, who is the way, the truth,
and the life. They are intended to
continue their conversion and deepen their resolve to hold fast to Christ the
light and to carry out their decision to love God above all as children of the
light.
As the
Elect prepare for the Sacraments of Initiation, we the baptized need to hear
these readings. Even though we became
light when we were baptized, we sometimes slip back into darkness. In our sins, we lose the ability to see as
God sees. We become like Jesse, who
makes judgments based only on physical stature.
We make our own judgments instead of trusting in God’s judgment. The Church does not celebrate the Scrutinies
with us. Instead, she gives us the Sacrament of Reconciliation to heal our spiritual
blindness so we can see more clearly with eyes of faith. Restored to the fundamental way we have been
changed at Baptism, the light of Christ can shine more clearly through us as we
prepare to renew our Baptismal promises at Easter.
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