4th SUNDAY OF LENT - Gospel (John 9:1-41) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- Mar 18
- 10 min read
FIRST READING - 1 Sam 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
"Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers."
A reading from the Book of Samuel
1 The Lord said to Samuel: How long will you grieve for Saul, whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for from among his sons I have decided on a king.[a]
6 As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the anointed is here before the Lord.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel: Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The Lord looks into the heart.
10 In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any one of these.” 11 Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he arrives here.” 12 Jesse had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth with beautiful eyes, and good looking. The Lord said: There—anoint him, for this is the one! 13 Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and from that day on, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David. Then Samuel set out for Ramah.
SECOND READING - Eph 5:8-14
"Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."
A reading from the Letter to the Ephesians
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, 9 for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. 10 Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, 12 for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says:
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”[a]
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Jn 9:1-41
"He went and washed, and came back able to see."
✠From the Gospel according to John
1 [a]As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth. 2 [b]His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. 4 We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, 7 and said to him, “Go wash[c] in the Pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see.
8 His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” 10 So they said to him, “[So] how were your eyes opened?” 11 He replied, “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see.” 12 And they said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.”
13 They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now Jesus had made clay[d] and opened his eyes on a sabbath. 15 So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” 16 So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” [But] others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?” 20 His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.” 22 [e]His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; question him.”
24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give God the praise![f] We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” 26 So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” 28 They ridiculed him and said, “You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.” 30 The man answered and said to them, “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. 32 [g]It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” 34 They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.
35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he.” 38 He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him. 39 [h]Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.
4th SUNDAY OF LENT - Gospel (John 9:1-41)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
In today's Word of God, God the Father calls all humanity to come to Him, for only in Him are light, truth, the way, love, and life.
Only in Him can humanity clearly see the path of light, truth, the way, and love. Without His guidance and teaching or without His grace that enlightens, loves, protects, and sustains humanity, the human world could not exist as it does today.
Everything in this world must be directed toward God, the sole Creator of the universe and all things. Without Him, nothing would have been created.
The light of God's love and grace bestowed upon humanity is overflowing with blessings.
He constantly loves and cares for humanity with devoted attention to every smallest detail, step by step with humanity, alongside humanity, and within humanity.
Yet, the world has crept in to tempt humanity to exclude God the Father, refusing to acknowledge Him as the Lord of all creation, the King of the universe, and the King of all mankind, choosing instead to seek a mortal of flesh and blood to rule over them.
It is a grave error for humanity to cast out God, the true King and Master of our lives. However, God’s infinite, boundless, and endless love continues to cherish and sustain us; He still allows people the freedom they want and responds according to the freedom of each person and all humanity. But He never abandons humanity for even a single moment!
Every action, thought, and deed of humanity is fully known to Him. He sees the depths of the human heart, the nature of our thoughts, and whether they are good or evil.
Yet, He still allows us the freedom to choose whether or not to respond to the will of God the Father. For this reason, God sent Samuel to find a king to anoint according to the people's plea to God. He still allowed humanity the freedom to seek an earthly king to replace Saul. He did not abandon humanity but continued to sustain, protect, and preserve us, sending His prophet to find an earthly king to assist the people according to their prayers to God.
If it were not for God’s love surrounding, protecting, preserving, and accompanying humanity, Satan would have already taken over all humankind!
It is for this reason that today's Word of God invites humanity:
-to be vigilant and return to God; walking in His grace and light, for only in Him can we find light, love, truth, and life.
- not to fall into darkness, into the ways of the world, into the ways of Satan again!
-to seek all that is most pleasing to God to fulfill His holy commands, that is, wisdom.
Only in Him can the eyes of the soul be opened to divine light of life and truth.
Only in Him can the darkness of sin and suffering be dispelled out of humanity.
Therefore, God the Father invites us to return to Him, to make Him our everything: our King, our Master, and our only inheritance.
-to seek Him and return to Him. Awaken and be vigilant. Do not remain asleep in the darkness of sin or the lulling temptations of Satan.
-to step out of the shadows and into the light of God through sacrifice, fasting, prayer, penance, self-denial, and a life of holiness, virtue, love, and forgiveness.
-to fear Him and follow His will. That is the way of a wise person, who knows how to choose what is good and beautiful for the benefit of their own soul and body.
As today's Word of God shows, a blind beggar by the roadside saw the Lord passing by.
Through love, compassion, devotion, and a deep longing to see the light, this blind man did everything he could to reach Jesus, to ask Him for healing, to ask Him for grace, to ask Him to open his eyes, and to ask Him to wash away all his sins and remove all the darkness he had endured for decades.
Was he blind because of sin, or for some other reason?
Before the authority, power, grace, light, and love of God, all are sinners in need of God's cleansing and healing of both soul and body.
No human is truly 'enlightened' as God desires!
All have experienced sin and the darkness of the night of sin that Satan brings; more or less, humanity has sinned and greatly offended God the Father!
As the Gospel today shows, the image of the Jews surrounding this blind man and seeking to exclude God, to exclude the Light that is God from the world and the environment in which they lived. But it is impossible. This is a prerequisite to believe: the world can never destroy the light of God, and sin can never triumph over truth and love.
All who live in this world, dwelling in the darkness of sin both in spirit and in body should have the courage to cast aside sin and the ways of the world to come to God, to come to Jesus Christ.
He will heal you. He will cleanse you, and He will grant you the grace to see yourself clearly, to look toward the life of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to reconcile with God, with your brothers and sisters, and with yourself.
Run to Him through a life of sacrifice, fasting, and prayer, so that He may enlighten you and open the eyes of your soul to see your sins, to see God, and to recognize the grace He has freely bestowed upon you, to allow you to exist on earth, to breathe, and to live.
Without Him, humanity could not exist.
Today's Word of God calls upon humanity to have the courage to come to God, to ask Him for healing, to ask Him for grace, and to ask Him for enlightenment so that we may have the courage to abandon the world, abandon sin, and abandon worldly glory and honor to come to God, to trust in God, to hope in God, and to follow the teachings of God.
Do exactly as God says, as in the instruction God gave the blind man today, when He mixed water with a little mud, applied it to his eyes, and told him to go to the Pool of Siloam to wash. He went, and when he went and followed the Lord's instruction, he was able to see.
Thus, today's Word of God also invites people in this world who wish to see the light of God, to see themselves clearly, to recognize their sins, to see the grace of God, and to look toward the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven, to go and follow the Lord's instructions.
Just as in the first reading, God called Samuel to do exactly as the Lord instructed: to choose David as king, not to choose a mortal of flesh and blood according to human standards, but to choose according to God's holy will.
To do His holy will, you must come to Him, stay with Him, listen to Him, and practice exactly what He teaches; then the Kingdom of Heaven will be granted to your soul, and you will have eternal happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven with God the Father.
Go and do exactly as God the Father calls upon, just as Jesus invited the blind man to go and do exactly as Jesus teaches, and he was able to see.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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