Homily – Fourth Sunday of Lent (A)

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?’  ‘Neither he nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered ‘he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

‘As long as the day lasts

I must carry out the work of the one who sent me;

the night will soon be here when no one can work.

As long as I am in the world

I am the light of the world.’

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (a name that means ‘sent’).  So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored. (John 9)

Our readings for these past few Sundays are lengthy, and this weekend’s reading is no different.  We are presented with the option of the long version or longer version.  Sometimes it is helpful to read the longer version in our own time.  By now, we are probably used to the imagery and symbolism of darkness and light.  Darkness is associated with sin and injury.  On the other hand, light is associated with goodness and light projects confidence since we have nothing to hide.  St Paul reminds us in the second reading “The things which are done in secret are things that people are ashamed even to speak of, but anything exposed by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated turns into light.”

Through our baptism we receive the light of Christ to be kept burning brightly in the world.  This is the prayer at baptism when the parents and godparents of the child light a candle from the Pascal Candle.

The past Sundays’ readings have been about light, water, and oil (paste) the very symbols used in baptism.  When we are baptised, we are not simply a number recorded in the church’s register but a living sign of Christ in the world.  As members of the Church, we are the body of Christ, the hands and feet, eyes, and ears in the world.

‘As long as the day lasts

I must carry out the work of the one who sent me;

the night will soon be here when no one can work.

As long as I am in the world

I am the light of the world.’

When we are anointed at our baptism, we are anointed to be “sent” to carry the works of Christ.  One of the things I learnt about our parishes early on is that a good number of our parishioners visit those house-bound and in care through the Ministry to the Sick.  Not only do they bring Christ in the Eucharist, but they also bring themselves, their physical presence, their touch, ears to listen, their heart to love them in their fragile state.

We can rationalise and theorise about the benefits of visiting the sick but until we experience ourselves what it means to accompany those who are sick, we see things differently.

By Fr Hoang Dinh