Readings of the day:
1^st Reading – 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13 – The anointing of David by Samuel
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22 (23) – The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want
2^nd Reading – Ephesians 5:8-14 – Anything exposed by the light will turn into light
Gospel – John 9:1-41 – The dramatic curing of the blind man by Jesus and the arguments that followed among the Pharisees.
Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Osmond Anike

Although the entire country is under quarantine for understandable reasons, the Word of God is not. As we are told to follow the liturgy of the Eucharist electronically, and sincerely do the readings in your homes with devotion, I have decided to give you some points of reflection regarding the readings for the 4^th Sunday of Lent.

The First reading recounts the unexpected choice and anointing of David from among the sons of Jesse. It was unexpected because, from the point of view of physical appearance, David was the least imposing. But as the reading says, “God does not see as man sees: man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart”.

Lessons: Appearance is not reality. There is a difference between the two. Appearance is not how things look but how you look at things. If you have driven along a road on a very sunny day, you would have noticed that there sometimes appear to be a pool of water at a distance, only for that “pool of water” to disappear and move farther away as you approach. This is called refraction. Or again, when you walk alone along a bushy road in a dark, moonless night, and are afraid, trees appear to develop hands and legs; and houses appear to develop wings. But in actual fact, they remain trees and houses. These appearances are only the products of your imagination.

Because of this constant clash between appearance and reality, our judgments and assessments are not normally always correct and accurate. We therefore need divine guidance and assistance, as in the case of Samuel, to be able to assess and discern accurately. Worldly qualities may not meet up with divine qualities, as was the case with the children of Jesse. David was the least qualified for the kingship from the human point of view. But he was the only one who scaled through the divine requirements. This drama can teach us to stop presenting ourselves as the most qualified for a position in the church and begin to work with those who are eventually appointed for such positions.

In the Second reading, St. Paul tells us to “wake up from your sleep”. Really, a lot of people are asleep. We do not realize it, but many of our actions are actions of those who are asleep. When one is asleep, the person is not aware of his/her surroundings. How is it that as Christians we are hardly aware of people in need who surround us all the time? This period of Lent is a period we should wake up from our spiritual slumber and practice the three spiritual exercises given to us by Jesus on Ash Wednesday namely, Prayer, Fasting and almsgiving.

In the Gospel, there is a dramatic healing of the man born blind. It was commonly assumed among the Jewish community that it was either one’s sins or those of his/her parents that causes physical ailments such as blindness. Jesus used the opportunity of this healing to debunk such claims: “Neither he nor his parents sinned”, he said; “he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him”. Instead of glorifying God for displaying such work, the Pharisees tried to ridicule Jesus for performing a miracle on a Sabbath. Sometimes we might see ourselves ridiculing the work of God in order to promote our personal political or ideological beliefs. Such actions make us really “blind” even with our physical eyes open. It was ironical that the supposed blind man was able to see the work of God, and those who claim to have never been blind were unable or unwilling to see such works of God.

Let us open our eyes to the many works of God in our lives. Even in the midst of this coronavirus pandemic, we have to open our eyes and see what lessons God might be trying to teach us. This quarantine might have offered families the opportunity to stay together for the first time in a very long time and bridge the walls that separated them. As we pray for the quick solution to this virus, may we reach out to one another and try to see the positive side of the ugly situation.

And may the blessing of the Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, come down upon all of you, and remain with you now and forever, Amen.