4th Sunday of Lent (Year A)
1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13 | Psalm 22(23) | Ephesians 5:8-14 | John 9:1-41
‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him: God does not see as man sees: man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ (1 Samuel 16:7)
My business partner introduced me to a remarkable woman almost 10 years ago. He’d met her during a trip to China, and for some reason, the two of them hit it off quite quickly.
As for me, I found Serene to be quite the opposite person that her name would suggest; she was quite literally a harridan–shrill, bossy, and overall quite annoying.
Yet, 10 years later, she’s an important part of our venture, because despite her nails-on-chalkboard presence, she’s one of the most meticulous people I’ve ever met.
When my partner and I frequently wander off in our discussions and business-related activities, she’s there to drag us back to reality.
She questions all our “work product” in excruciating detail, bringing a valuable “dummies” perspective to our overly-technical presentation of trends and indicators that are meant to be understood by novice investors.
By poking us about stuff we believe to be “blindingly obvious”, she keeps us honest, and stops us from blinding ourselves and our target audience. To everyone else, though, she’s just a pain.
Appearances can be so deceptive. Just ask the prophet Samuel, when he unexpectedly anointed David by command of the Lord.
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Speaking of blindness…
We’re all familiar with the saying: There are none so blind as those who would not see. The Pharisees of Jesus’ time are often held up as examples of such blindness, well-versed in Mosaic Law but blindly hewing to it beyond all love and common sense.
But there are also people in this world who cannot see, those whose knowledge of God is tainted by the stain of priestly misconduct and Catholic opposition to abortion and contraception, among other things. They can’t see God because we followers of Christ, who are called to carry His light to all, bear instead the darkness of selfish indulgence and a dearth of love for our fellow humans.
We can do better. We must do better. Now that we’re past the halfway mark of our Lenten observance, we should be in a state of mind to re-examine our daily living, to honestly identify those areas in which we fall short of Christian love in the eyes of those around us, and take the necessary steps to correct ourselves.
In that way, may we echo Christ Himself:
As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world. (John 9:5)
Lord, You see us falter as we walk Your Holy Way each day. Help us get back on our feet, discard all the mundane encumbrances that spiritually trip us up, and give us the strength to continue illuminating Your Way for others through our thoughts, words and deeds, as You continued like a lamb towards Your glorious Passion. Amen.