The Fourth Week of Lent

A blind man longed for sight. Enveloped in darkness, he sought the light. Knowing not the source of light, he became miserable.

Some believed that blindness was the result of sin. “Is it his own sin,” they inquired, “or that of his parents?” But he was waiting for the light.

Jesus came by that way and saw him. The light encountered darkness. The light of the world effaced darkness.

As St. John says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” the light dispelled darkness.

Jesus mixed the dust with his saliva to create clay, and smeared the clay on the man’s eyes, just as God formed the man out of the dust of the ground. He asked the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam. At the touch of the water, his eyes were enlightened. He could see. He beheld Jesus, the source of light and life.

A divine irony took place. While the eyes of the blind man were enlightened, the hearts of some people drowned in darkness. The very moment he was gaining his sight; they were losing theirs.

The Pharisees of old are a mirror to our present generation. Like many today, they were unwilling to believe, so they constructed rational justifications.

First, they attempted to invalidate the man’s credibility, claiming he had never been blind at all. When his parents proved otherwise, they turned their scrutiny upon Jesus, seeking to tarnish His authenticity. They argued that He could not be from God, for He had healed the man on the Sabbath.

The blind man chose the light, while the pharisees chose to remain in darkness. He moved toward the radiance; they retreated into the dark.

This Lent, the Light beckons, and we must respond. It calls, and we must follow. It shines, and we must draw near. It enlightens, and we must allow ourselves to be transformed by its glow.