The Fourth Sunday of Lent

Jewish tradition at the time of Jesus held that God used his spit to mix with the dust of the earth in order to create Adam.  Knowing that gives added meaning to the gospel story of the man born blind, as Jesus uses spit and dirt to cover the man’s eyes and then has him wash in the waters of Siloam.  Jesus is making him into a new creation with spit and dirt and then sends him to be cleansed with water, similar to the waters of baptism.

When our Lenten journey is over in a few short weeks, we will renew our baptismal promises and be sprinkled with the waters of baptism.  This Easter Sunday ritual reminds us that baptism is only the beginning of our life in Christ and needs to be lived out one day at a time, one year at a time. 

Looking again at today’s gospel story, we are like the man born blind, for it takes us time to grow in the realization of who Jesus is, what he can do for us, and what our response ought to be – namely, making him Lord of our lives and desiring to grow more deeply in love and trust of him.  This is possible when we see life through the eyes of faith.

In the first reading, the Lord gives Samuel a reassuring word that while we see only appearances, God sees into the heart.  It is important then that we too look into our hearts on a regular basis to see what is there, for we are swayed and influenced by what dwells in our hearts.  For most of us, it is a combination of light and darkness.

Paul’s words to the Ephesians in the second reading remind us that we need to seek out all that is light and shun what is dark.  Our heart can be a battleground at times, but Jesus, the Light of the World, is more powerful than the evil one who seeks to draw us into the darkness of selfishness and self-pity.  We need to trust the Lord, for God knows our hearts, and the Lord will give us the grace we need to make them a more suitable dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. 

We rejoice this Laetare Sunday that we have been re-created in the waters of baptism.  We trust Jesus never to refuse our requests to see him more clearly.  And we know that when we most need him, he will find us, as he did the man born blind, and we will see the way forward yet again.