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Exegesis
Texts of the
Readings
March 2,
2008
Fourth Sunday of Lent (A)
Betty Jane
Lillie, SC
1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
X
Ps 23: 1-6
X Eph 5:8-14
X John 9:1-41
Seeing and not seeing, light and
darkness, blindness and sight. These are parallel antitheses that work
through our readings this week to make the point about faith and disbelief.
These are the themes that direct our attention to the wonderful work of God
in bringing us to faith through the Spirit of God.
The long Gospel reading is a beautiful piece of Johannine
irony. The man who was born blind foiled the inquiries of the religious
leadership, for even in the face of the actual facts they did not believe in
God in Person in there midst. They were disciples of Moses for God spoke to
Moses. But they could not believe in Jesus because the idea of God walking
around in their midst did not fit in with their expectations. They threw
the man out because they said he was born totally in sin, but it never
occurred to them that they were born into the same human condition as he
was.
The symbolism of moving from blindness to sight is made explicit
in the text when the man affirmed his belief in Jesus and worshipped him. (Jn
9:35-38) It is one of the characteristics of the Johannine writer that the
text moves from the symbolism of the obvious to a deeper meaning that has a
profound impact. Here Jesus told the man he was speaking with the Son of
Man, and the man moved to faith. “I do believe, Lord.”
This whole idea meshes with the second reading from Paul’s
letter to the Ephesians. He tells his readers they were once darkness.
That is, they were without faith. When they responded to the gift of faith
they became light. That new reality carried certain
responsibilities. They were to give up the fruitless work of darkness and
move into the light of Christian virtue. Paul exhorted them to give up
their pagan ways and discern the context of their actions which made them
either light or darkness. In that way the ending of our
passage tells them to wake up, throw off the death of darkness, and
put on the light of Christ. What better time is there than the
season of Lent to turn to the light and let our light shine in the world
around us!
In the reading from the first book of Samuel we learn that it
can happen that we do not see as God sees. We might judge from appearances,
whereas God sees the heart. In God there is no darkness; nothing is hidden
from his sight because to him even darkness is light. God’s choice of David
to be king was dramatized by the spirit of God rushing upon David. Each one
of us can contribute to the work of God in our world through his Spirit that
we receive. May our light shine for all the world to see!
With the Psalmist we can praise the Lord who shepherds us in the
paths of righteousness. God’s goodness and mercy always follow us. (Ps 23)
Betty Jane Lillie, S.C.
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