4th SUNDAY OF LENT
Psalter: Week 4 / (Violet)
Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
1st Reading: 1 S 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Yahweh asked Samuel, “How long will you be grieving over Saul whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.“
As they came, Samuel looked at Eliab the older and thought, “This must be Yahweh’s anointed.“ But Yahweh told Samuel, “Do not judge by his looks or his stature for I have rejected him. Yahweh does not judge as man judges; humans see with the eyes; Yahweh sees the heart.“
Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel who said, “Yahweh has chosen none of them. But are all your sons here?“ Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, tending the flock just now.“ Samuel said to him, “Send for him and bring him to me; we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.“ So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him to Samuel. He was a handsome lad with a ruddy complexion and beautiful eyes. And Yahweh spoke, “Go, anoint him for he is the one.“ Samuel then took the horn of oil and anointed him in his brothers’ presence. From that day onwards, Yahweh’s spirit took hold of David. Then Samuel left for Ramah.
2nd Reading: Eph 5:8-14
You were once darkness, but, now, you are light, in the Lord. Behave as children of light; the fruits of light are kindness, justice and truth, in every form.
You, yourselves, search out what pleases the Lord, and take no part in works of darkness, that are of no benefit; expose them instead. Indeed, it is a shame even to speak of what those people do in secret, but as soon as it is exposed to the light, everything becomes clear; and what is unmasked, becomes clear through light. Therefore it is said:
“Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, that the light of Christ may shine on you.“
Gospel: Jn 9:1-41
As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Master, was he born blind because of a sin of his, or of his parents?“
Jesus answered, “Neither was it for his own sin nor for his parents’ sin. He was born blind so that God’s power might be shown in him. While it is day we must do the work of the One who sent me; for the night will come when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.“
As Jesus said this, he made paste with spittle and clay, and rubbed it on the eyes of the blind man. Then he said, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.“ (This word means sent.) So the blind man went and washed and came back able to see.
His neighbors, and all the people who used to see him begging, wondered. They said, “Isn’t this the beggar who used to sit here?“ Some said, “He’s the one.“ Others said, “No, but he looks like him.“ But the man himself said, “I am he.“ Then they asked him, “How is it, that your eyes were opened?“ And he answered, “The man called Jesus made a mud paste, put it on my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went, and washed, and I could see.“ They asked, “Where is he?“ and the man answered, “I don’t know.“
The people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made mud paste and opened his eyes. The Pharisees asked him again, “How did you recover your sight?“ And he said, “He put paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.“ Some of the Pharisees said, “That man is not from God, for he works on the Sabbath“; but others wondered, “How can a sinner perform such miraculous signs?“ They were divided, and they questioned the blind man again, “What do you think of this man who opened your eyes?“ And he answered, “He is a prophet!“
After all this, the Jews refused to believe that the man had been blind and had recovered his sight; so they called his parents and asked them, “Is this your son? You say that he was born blind, how is it, that he now sees?“ The parents answered, “He really is our son and he was born blind; but how it is that he now sees, we don’t know, neither do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is old enough. Let him speak for himself.“
The parents said this because they feared the Jews, who had already agreed that whoever confessed Jesus to be the Christ was to be expelled from the synagogue. Because of that his parents said, “He is old enough, ask him.“
So, a second time, the Pharisees called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Tell us the truth; we know that this man is a sinner.“ He replied, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner or not; I only know that I was blind and now I see.“ They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?“ He replied, “I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?“
Then they started to insult him. “Become his disciple yourself! We are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses; but as for this man, we don’t know where he comes from.“
The man replied, “It is amazing that you don’t know where the man comes from, and yet he opened my eyes! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone honors God and does his will, God listens to him. Never, since the world began, has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person who was born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.“
They answered him, “You were born a sinner and now you teach us!“ And they expelled him.
Jesus heard that they had expelled him. He found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?“ He answered, “Who is he, that I may believe in him?“ Jesus said, “You have seen him and he is speaking to you.“ He said, “Lord, I believe“; and he worshiped him.
Jesus said, “I came into this world to carry out a judgment: Those who do not see shall see, and those who see shall become blind.“ Some Pharisees stood by and asked him, “So we are blind?“ And Jesus answered, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty. But you say, ‘We see’; this is the proof of your sin.“
REFLECTION:
Read: Yahweh chooses David to succeed Saul, who did not live up to his vocation. Paul invites all to live up to their status as children of God, by producing fruits of light. The man born blind receives both physical and spiritual light whereas the priests and Pharisees who claimed to be God’s men fail to accept the light of Christ.
Reflect: It is possible to be chosen by God once only to be rejected by Him later. Saul, and the priests and the Pharisees are case in point. Is God unfaithful and wrong to do so? The truth of the matter is: it is not God’s doing; but ours. We fail God’s call by our stubbornness of heart. We fall away from God’s light and truth by our selfish agenda. Like the fall of the angels.
Pray: Pray for the gift of faithfulness and perseverance in faith.
Act: Recite the Profession of Faith.
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
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