Sunday of Week 4 of Lent – Laetare Sunday (Year A, B or C)
Note: On this, the Fourth Sunday in Lent, we celebrate the Mass for the second of the three ‘Scrutinies’. The Scrutinies are special rites that help prepare the Elect (those participating in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) to enter the Catholic Church. The readings discussed in this commentary, while ‘proper’ for Year A, may also be used in Years B and C when there are catechumens present who will be baptised at Easter. Click on the links below for the commentaries on readings proper for Years B and C:
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Commentary on 1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
When catechumens are present at this Mass for the second of the ‘Scrutinies’, they are presented to the gathered community which they will soon be joining as full members, and from which they will receive acceptance and support. After the homily, and before the Creed, they will leave the gathered community, because they are not yet full members of the faith community. It is in this context today that we have the marvellous story from John’s Gospel about the cure of a man born blind.
As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who was blind from birth. This man is the hero of today’s Gospel. The Gospel is much more here than just a miracle story about the man—it is a story about everyone who becomes a follower of Christ.
Again, like last Sunday, when we read about the Samaritan by the well of Jacob, today’s story has close links with the sacrament of baptism. In addition to catechumens who may be present, it is also a time for us to understand the commitments that our own baptism entails.
The disciples ask Jesus about the reason for this man’s blindness:
Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus responds:
Neither this man nor his parents sinned…
The real reason was so that “God’s works might be revealed”: in healing him. In other words, it was so the glory and power of God would be made evident before their eyes, so that their own blindness could be cured.
All the way through, the story emphasises that the man was blind from birth. To heal him is to help him begin a completely new life which he had never before experienced. He will be able to experience the light that Jesus brings:
I am the Light of the World. (John 8:12)
To see is to be bathed in that light. If we do not know Jesus, we are living in darkness.
In the beginning of the story:
- the man is blind—he cannot see;
- he is a beggar—he has nothing;
- he is an outsider—no one accepts him;
- he is a man without Christ in his life
But in the end, because he can see, he becomes a disciple of Jesus; it is the inevitable outcome.
In the beginning, he was blind—he was in darkness. In the end, he is in the light, not just of his physical sight, but because a deeper insight opens him up to Jesus who is the Light of the world.
Healing
Jesus heals the man’s eyes using mud and saliva. At that time, people believed that saliva could heal, and to some degree they were right. By using mud, Jesus also helps us to recall God’s using mud to create Adam, the first man. Here, too, there is a new creation—Jesus is making a new person. St Paul calls the baptised Christian “a new creation”. Then, Jesus tells the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. This is, as it were, his baptism.
After his healing, his friends and his neighbours discuss his identity—is it really him? But he was blind, and this man can see. Because he has changed, some people cannot recognise him. When we are baptised, when we follow Christ, we too should change. Maybe some people will say, “You are not like the way you were before! You are hardly the person we used to know.” And that is what they should be saying!
Guardians of orthodoxy
Because they were not satisfied, the neighbours bring the blind man to see the Pharisees, the guardians of orthodox religion. Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath and the methods he used were against the letter of the Law. The conundrum, of course is that if Jesus was from God, he would not break the law. And, if he is a sinner, how can he do these things? Sinners cannot do the work of God.
For the Pharisees, sin is breaking the letter of the Law; for Jesus, sin is doing an unloving thing, breaking or hurting a relationship. It is a distinction we need to keep in mind. It is a sin to violate one of the Commandments, not because we violate a law, but because we have failed in the love of a brother or sister. And we can sin even when we do nothing at all for someone in need of our love.
The Pharisees now ask the blind man his opinion. For the man, it is all perfectly clear: Jesus is a prophet, that is, his actions are from God. He measures Jesus by what he did, not by what the law says. But the Pharisees cannot accept this. If they accept, they have to accept Jesus and his teaching also. So they do not even accept that the man was born blind! Prejudice can even blind us to facts.
Pressuring the parents
The Pharisees then try to get the man’s parents on their side. Maybe they will admit that the blindness was only temporary. But the parents know very well that their son was blind from birth, and they do not deny it, but they are afraid to say anything. They know that if anyone were to say Jesus is the Messiah, he or she will be expelled from the synagogue and will no longer be part of the community. In such a tightly knit society, this is not a price they are willing to pay, even for their son. Many Jewish converts to Christianity must have had the experience of being expelled by their communities. Christians, too, over the centuries, and down to our own day, have had this experience.
So the parents say their son is an adult. He can answer for himself. They cannot afford to identify themselves with Jesus against the authorities.
Telling the truth
The Pharisees again ask the man to tell the truth, meaning, to tell them what they want to hear. They say to him:
We know that this man is a sinner….How did he open your eyes?
The Pharisees’ evaluation is based on their interpretation of the Law, which they regard as supreme. Jesus cannot, in their thinking, have opened his eyes.
Says the man:
I don’t know if he is a sinner. I do know I was blind and now I can see.
The Pharisees for the umpteenth time ask:
What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?
The man says:
I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again?
The man begins to mock them. He is more daring now, not afraid and he asks them:
Do you also want to become his disciples?
Inevitably the Pharisees become angry. They “reviled” the man saying:
You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.
This is a example of Johannine irony, where people say things which have a meaning of which they are unaware—for it is true that no one knows the origins of Jesus. He is the Word who has been with God from the beginning, and he is God. On the other hand, some of this truth is quite obvious to this simple, uneducated man who is the subject of their ire.
The man exclaims:
Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.
The Pharisees now become very angry and say to the man:
You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?
The words are cruel and indicate a refusal to accept that people can change and be transformed. We too often tend to condemn wrongdoers for the rest of their lives. But fortunately for each one of us, that is not God’s way.
After this, the Pharisees expelled the man from the synagogue. This is what the parents feared, but their son is made of different stuff. This was the experience of many Jews who became Christians—and the experience of many others who were expelled by their families, relatives and society for choosing to follow Christ.
Found by Jesus
Jesus hears the man has been expelled and goes in search of him. Jesus asks him:
“Do you believe in the Son of Man [i.e. the Messiah]?
And the man replies:
And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.
He does not immediately recognise Jesus in the flesh, for it is the first time he has seen him with his new sight. Jesus says:
You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.
And the man falls down and “worships him” saying:
Lord, I believe.
He sees now also with eyes of faith. He is now a disciple. A disciple is someone who knows and can see and accepts Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. Jesus says:
I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see and those who do see may become blind.
The Pharisees ask Jesus:
Surely we are not blind, are we?
Jesus responds:
If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
Those who sin, those who refuse to listen, those who are proud, they are the really blind people. The Pharisees, who thought they could see, were the real sinners. And the man born blind, who accepts Jesus, is the one who can actually see.
Links to Baptism
As mentioned above, this Gospel has a clear relation to baptism. We read it today for the catechumens who are preparing for baptism. They are beginning to see Jesus, to recognise him and to follow him. But it is certainly for us who are already baptised.
At first sight, one might wonder about the relevance of the First Reading from the First Book of Samuel to the general theme of the Mass. The central lesson is that God chooses his own and does not judge by outward appearance. Samuel thought that the eldest son of Jesse, so tall, so handsome must be God’s choice to be king after the discredited Saul. But the eldest son was not God’s choice—God wanted the youngest, the shepherd boy David.
In the Gospel, Jesus sees a future disciple in the blind beggar, and passes over the self-righteous Pharisees who, externally, seemed to be so devoutly religious. Today, too, our catechumens should wonder why they have been chosen to enter Christ’s community when there would seem to be so many others more fitting.
And it is the same for each one of us. We have not conferred a favour on God by getting baptised. It is we who need to wonder and give thanks that God’s way has been made known to us. And we give thanks most effectively by giving back to God the love he has shown us through the love we show to all our brothers and sisters, Christians and non-Christians alike.
The Second Reading reminds us how we were once living in darkness but, through our baptism, are now living in the light. We are, then, to be children of the light, to reflect that light which has been given to us. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:
You are the light of the world. (Matt 5:14)
We might say that we are only living in the light to the extent that God’s light shines in us and through us, giving light to others. The Second Reading tells us:
…the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.
But the good and right and true can only be seen when people are good and right and true. So, we are to:
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them.
There should be no dark corners in our lives.
If we are people of the light, people of integrity, we are not afraid of the light. We have nothing shameful to hide; we are totally transparent. For most of us, that is something of a problem, but let us keep working to become people transfused with light, the light of truth and goodness and love.
For that we need to see Jesus and the Gospel ever more clearly. Then, let this be our prayer today, along with with a beggar in the Gospel:
Lord, let me see again. (Luke 18:41)
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Sunday of Week 4 of Lent – Laetare Sunday (Year A) – Alternate Commentary
Commentary on 1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
On this fourth Sunday in Lent, we celebrate the Mass for the second of the three “Scrutinies”. As described in last Sunday’s commentary, the Scrutinies are special rites that help prepare the Elect (also called ‘catechumens’, i.e. those participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) to enter the Catholic Church. Today’s readings from Year A may also be used in Years B and C when there are catechumens present who will be baptised at Easter.
When catechumens are present, they are presented to the gathered community which they will soon be joining as full members, and from which they will receive acceptance and support. After the homily, and before the Creed, they will leave the gathered community, because they are not yet full members of the faith community.
It is in this context that we have the marvellous story from John’s gospel about the cure of a man born blind. The hero of the story is a man who was blind from his birth. He had never been able to see. When he is cured, he will be able to see Jesus as his Lord, something the religious leaders were unable to do.
The disciples ask Jesus, “Why was he born blind? Was it because of his own sins or the sins of his parents?” There was, in people’s minds at that time, a close link between sin and a chronic sickness or disability – one was a punishment for the other. We remember when the paralysed man was let down through the roof at the feet of Jesus seeking to be healed of his disability, surprisingly, Jesus’ first words to him were, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Here, however, Jesus changes the direction of their question.
His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents’ sins. He is blind so that God’s power might be seen at work in him.
He will be the focus of one of the seven great signs which Jesus is seen to perform in this gospel.
A life of light
The story keeps emphasising that the man was blind from birth. To heal him then means the beginning of a completely new life, a life where he can see. He will enter a new world of brightness. Not to know Jesus is to live in blindness and darkness. In fact, this story is an illustration of Jesus’ statement: “I am the light of the world”.
In the beginning of the story, the man is blind – he cannot see; he is a beggar – he has nothing; he is an outsider – no one accepts him. His affliction indicates that he is a sinner or the son of a sinner and as such, a person to be avoided. In the end, when he is able to see, he becomes a disciple of Jesus. In terms of the Gospel, it is the logical and inevitable outcome. Once we really see Jesus, we are hooked.
In the beginning he was blind, he was in darkness. In the end he is in the light, because Jesus is the Light of the world.
Mud and saliva
Jesus heals the man’s eyes. In doing so he uses mud and saliva. At that time, people believed that saliva could heal and, to some degree they were right.
Here Jesus, by using mud, also helps us to remember God used mud to create Adam, the first man. Here too, there is a new creation. Jesus is making a new man. St Paul calls the baptised Christian a “new person”. Then Jesus tells him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. This is symbolic of his baptism.
Is it the same man?
After his healing, the man’s friends and his neighbours discuss his identity – is it really him? The beggar was blind, and this man can see. Because he has changed, some people cannot recognise him. When we are baptised, when we become committed followers of Christ, we too should change. Maybe some people will say, “You are not like the way you were before! You are not the same person since your conversion and baptism.” In fact, that is what they should be able to say.
Not keeping the rules
Because they are not satisfied, neighbours bring the blind man to see the Pharisees. The Pharisees are the source of orthodox thinking and fidelity to the Law.
Moreover, Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath, and the methods he used were a violation of the letter of the Law. The conundrum for the Pharisees was that if Jesus truly were from God, he would not be breaking the law. On the other hand, if he was a sinner, how could he do these things? Sinners cannot do the work of God. This led to division among the Pharisees, because they refused to follow out their own logic.
The Pharisees then interrogate the blind man. He keeps telling them just what Jesus had done for him. For him the answer is quite simple: Jesus is a prophet. Sabbath or no Sabbath, his actions are clearly from God. “How could a man who is a sinner do things like this?”
But the Pharisees cannot accept his argument. If they accept, then they have to accept Jesus and his teaching also. So they do not even want to accept that the man was ever blind!
Avoiding trouble
Now, they turn their questions to the man’s parents. The parents know very well that their son was born blind, but they are afraid to say so. They know that now if anyone says Jesus is the Messiah, they will be expelled from the synagogue. They will no longer be part of the community. Many Jewish Christians, known to the readers of this gospel, would have had this experience. Later on, thousands of Christians would have a similar experience, ostracised for their faith in Christ.
Unfortunately, the man’s parents were prepared to sacrifice their integrity rather than suffer such a punishment. So the parents push the argument back to the son: he is an adult; he is well able to answer for himself.
Who is really blind?
The Pharisees again ask the man to tell the truth. “We know that Jesus is a sinner. He cannot do these things.” The healed man stands his ground:
I don’t know if he is a sinner. I do know I was blind and now I can see.
For the umpteenth time they ask, “What did he do?” Exasperated, the man replies: “I told you already. But you will not listen.”
The man is also more daring now, not afraid, and he begins to mock the Pharisees:
Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples too?
This makes the Pharisees angry and they begin to abuse him. “You are his disciple. We are Moses’ disciples. No one knows where that fellow [Jesus] came from.”
In a sense, that is perfectly true because the Word was with God from the very beginning. On the other hand, Jesus’ origins are perfectly obvious as the cured man is well aware:
Now here is an astonishing thing! He has opened my eyes, and you don’t know where he comes from? God does not listen to sinners. God listens to those who respect him and do his will. Never before was it heard that anyone had cured a man born blind. If Jesus is not from God, he could not do this.
The Pharisees, now very angry, resort to the traditional belief – sickness as punishment for sin. “You were born and raised in sin. You want to teach us?” And they expelled him from the synagogue. This was indeed the experience of many Jews who became Christians. And the experience of many others later on, expelled by their families, relatives and society.
Found by Jesus
Jesus hears that the man has been expelled. He goes in search of him and finds him. Jesus asks him:
Do you believe in the Son of Man, that is, the Messiah?
And, the man replies, “Tell me who he is and I will believe in him.” He does not recognise the man Jesus, for this is the first time he has seen him with his new vision since his healing. Says Jesus, “You have seen him. He is talking with you now.”
“I believe, Lord,” the man replies, and falls down on his knees before Jesus. He is now a disciple. A disciple is someone who knows and can see Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.
I came to this world so that the blind could see and those who see become blind.
The Pharisees ask, “Do you mean we are blind, too?” and Jesus tells them,
If you were really blind [like the man], you would not have sin; but because you say, ‘We can see’, you are guilty.
Jesus turns around their conviction that a blind man is a sinner. Rather, says Jesus, it is those who think they can see when they cannot who are the guilty ones.
There are two kinds of people:
– like the blind man, they accept Jesus’ teaching and are the sheep of his flock;
– like the Pharisees, who refuse to believe, they do not belong to Jesus.
Those who sin, those who refuse to listen, those who are proud, are the really blind people (and immediately following this passage, John’s gospel will speak about Jesus as the Good Shepherd).
The Pharisees, who thought they could see, were the real sinners. And the man born blind who accepts Jesus can really see.
Links with Baptism
This gospel has a clear relation to Baptism. We read it today for the catechumens who are preparing to be baptised and enter the Christian community. They have begun to see Jesus, to recognise him and to follow him.
But the Gospel is also for us already baptised. We also need to see Jesus and the Gospel more clearly. The words of Paul in the Second Reading are very appropriate:
You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth.
On the one hand, Paul is telling us that, like the man in the Gospel who represents all of us, we were also blind and stumbling in darkness. But now we live in the light of the Gospel and the New Testament. And that light is seen in the way we behave, in the way we relate with other people in “complete goodness and right living and truth”. Our lives are to have a transparency where there is no darkness, no hidden behaviour which we would be ashamed to reveal to others. Let us all pray for this.
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