Sunday Gospel Reflection, March 15, 2026: I was blind and now I see...

I was blind and now I see…
Are we aware of the Lord working in our lives? 

    When, in the First Book of Samuel, the Lord sends Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint David, the Lord’s chosen one, the Lord can work through Samuel because Samuel is open to the Lord’s presence in his life. As instructed, Samuel scrutinizes each of Jesse’s sons in turn, but the scrutiny of God sees only David: There – anoint him, for this is the one! God tells Samuel. David too will need to be open to the Lord’s revelation as it unfolds in his life. When he is open to the spirit of God, that spirit will fill him with grace. And, as Psalm 23 reveals, David is aware of God’s presence in his life: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want, the psalmist David sings. The Lord never ceases to accompany David, giving David confidence and comfort in all that he must do. 

    Jesus’ healing of the man blind from birth in John’s Gospel is yet another opportunity for the revelation of God’s light at work. The blind man does not ask for healing, yet he becomes a witness to Jesus, the light of the world, come to do the works of the one who sent him, God’s vessel through which light shines in the world. Yet, even as the man is healed, the Pharisees’ blindness becomes more acute, and they ridicule the man’s faith in Jesus. However, the man continues to live in faith, actively aware of and witnessing to God’s presence in his life: I do believe, Lord, he says to Jesus, and he worships him. 

   Like the man blind from birth, we were once in darkness, but now are light in the Lord, as Paul tells the Ephesians. We are to live as children of the light, stepping into the light of faith which reveals to us the path on which we walk with the Lord. Because of our own fear or desire for control, we can become blind to the light of Christ. But our awareness of Christ’s presence in our lives brings us from darkness to light. In every situation there is always grace, grace and the light that is of the Lord. God asks us to be ever aware of his presence, to enjoy a growing appreciation of the light that never leaves us, and to give joyful witness to his light… for our world. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, March 26, 2017: I was blind and now I see...

 I was blind and now I see… 

Do you share God’s vision? 

   We generally see what we want to see -- how often do we see with God’s eyes?  In the First Book of Samuel, God sends the prophet to anoint a new king from among the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem.  Naturally, everyone expects the eldest son to be chosen; instead, Samuel anoints David, the youngest, who is tending the sheep as future king of Israel.  Not as man sees does God see, the Lord tells Samuel, because man sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.  David will see with the heart, as is made clear in Psalm 23, for he knows that it is God who guides him, who leads him.  David understands his relationship with the Lord, and makes every effort to share God’s vision as God’s shepherd-king on earth.

   In John’s Gospel, the Pharisees have a twisted point of view; they are caught up in their own vision of how things should be.  In contrast to the blind man whom Jesus heals, the Pharisees suffer from vision that is becoming dimmer and dimmer until eventually they will be blind – spiritually blind.  The blind man himself sees with the heart, is able to see, because he believes; he has faith in Jesus even before Jesus has died and risen.  His physical blindness is incidental to his spiritual vision; he sees what the Pharisees do not, that Jesus is a prophet, the Son of Man – I was blind and now I see.

   Paul, in his Letter to the Ephesians, equates clear vision with faith and blindness with unbelief.  If you enter into life with Christ, Paul tells the Ephesians, you come to see clearly, to see as God sees, to share God’s vision, for everything exposed by the light becomes visible.  For us today, Jesus remains that light; through faith, we too can be light in the Lord, sharing clearer vision, sharing God’s vision, knowing that, if we are open, we who were once blind may now see.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

Image source:  Wordle