March
26, 2017
4th
Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday or Sunday of Rejoicing
1
Samuel 16:1b, 6–7, 10–13a; Ephesians 5:8–14; John 9:1–41; John 9:1, 6–9, 13–17,
34–38
One of the ways
to gain access to internet nowadays is though the wireless connection called
WIFI. I remember this story about a conversation between God and man about
Wifi. There was once a man who asked God: “Dear God, you said in the Bible that
you are always with us – that we can reach you anytime and anywhere. But why is
it that I cannot seem to connect with you?” God replied: “I am like WiFi my
child. I am available everywhere, but just like any other WIFI, you need to
connect with me with a correct password. And the password is – FAITH.”
My dear friends,
it is indeed true that God is everywhere and always available. But we need
faith to be connected with God. What does faith do to us? Let us look at our readings today and reflect on them in three points:
FAITH
ENABLES US TO SEE GOD’S WILL. The experience of Samuel in the first
reading illustrates this point very well. God sent Samuel to Jesse to anoint
the next king of Israel. Perhaps on the way, Samuel started thinking: “What are
the characteristics of a king chosen by God? How does he look like?” Samuel
came up with his own criteria of a king. When Jesse presented his sons, Samuel
looked at them to see who among them fits his criteria. But every time Samuel
would say, “This is God’s anointed.” God would say, “No. Not him.” Even Jesse,
the father had his own set of criteria. Perhaps Jesse told himself, “If Samuel
is looking for the next king, certainly that king is not David – his youngest
son.” But when David was presented to Samuel, the message of God was clear: “He
is the one, anoint him.” God was teaching Samuel a lesson: “Human beings look
at appearances. But God looks into the heart of the person.”
It is a good
thing that the faith of Samuel led him to listen and be attentive to God. This
is something we can emulate from Samuel. If we want our choices in life to be
in accordance with God’s will, we need faith to connect with the Lord and be
open to where God is leading us.
FAITH
ACTS AS LIGHT IN THE MIDST OF DARKNESS. I often encounter the saying that
faith is a leap in the dark - a leap in the unknown. But I think faith must
rather be seen as light in times of darkness. Pope Francis said: “Faith as
light is like a star that illumines our journey at a time when we are in need
of light.” (Cf. Lumen fidei, 3-4). Isn’t this the experience of the man born
blind in the gospel? There is so much darkness in his life. Imagine a person
who is not only blind but also poor. But when the man born blind came to
encounter Jesus and believed in Him, the blind man regained his sight. His
faith finally led him to see and get out of darkness. Faith acts as light in
the midst of darkness. This season of Lent we are invited to overcome the
darkness of sin in our lives. How do we respond to this invitation?
FAITH
CALLS US TO REPENTANCE. Paul tells us in the second reading: “Take no
part in works of darkness. We are children of the light, not of darkness.” The
problem is we often go back into the darkness of sin. Sin darkens our vision to
what is good. Repentance on the other hand is turning from what is dark to what
is light. Repentance is recognizing our need for the Lord’s help to restore our
sight. Are there areas in our lives that are still in darkness of sin? Lent is the time to respond to the invitation
of faith to repent and be sorry for our sins.
As we continue our
journey this Lenten season, let us beg for the grace of the light of faith to
enable us to see God’s will, to act as light in the midst of darkness and to
guide us in responding to the call of repentance. Amen.
