Today, having reached the halfway point of Lent, we celebrate Laetare Sunday. This Latin word, pronounced lay-TAR-ray, means “rejoice.” We rejoice in the knowledge that the cross does not end in death, that Jesus’ story does not end in the tomb. The Church also celebrates the second scrutiny today, a significant step for catechumens but also an opportunity for all of us to look into our hearts for the sinful habits and tendencies we may not even see. In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals a blind man. More significantly, he can heal our blindness to sin as well. Let us rejoice!
Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word
Today’s readings explore the theme of blindness, both literal and metaphorical. The man born literally blind receives his eyesight by Jesus’ action in the Gospel, but we also witness Samuel’s metaphorical blindness to David’s fitness for kingship, the Pharisees’ blindness to Jesus’ holiness, and even the willful blindness of the blind man’s parents when they are questioned. May God’s word help us examine our own blindnesses as we welcome the light of Christ.
Reflections
As wonderful as it is that Jesus heals people or puts an end to their physical disabilities, it is every bit as important that he welcomes them into full participation in society. Recall that when he encountered those who were lame or had leprosy, it was outside the synagogue, for they were considered unclean. The blind man was considered unclean as well—“totally in sin,” as the Pharisees assert (John 9:34). Jesus not only gives him sight, he gives him admittance to the synagogue. Or would have, had the Pharisees not thrown him out for his assertion that Jesus must be sent from God. But Jesus does not walk away from that exclusion, even though the physical part of the cure is complete. Just as the Good Shepherd goes out to find the lost sheep, Jesus immediately goes and finds him and brings him back into the fold. The man he healed could once again fully participate in his faith, albeit not inside the synagogue, but—even more intimately—in the very presence of the Lord.
When we witness something unimaginable, we face a fundamental question. Do we accept it, changing our minds to accommodate it, or do we refuse, denying what we have just witnessed? The Pharisees in today’s Gospel choose the latter. They refuse to change their attitudes about keeping the sabbath or the sinfulness of the one born blind. The man’s parents choose the latter as well, though likely out of fear. They choose to deny what they saw rather than risk being expelled from the synagogue. But not the blind man himself: He accepts this miracle worker as the Son of Man. It wasn’t only his literal vision that was changed.
“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” Jesus asserts (John 9:5). That did not end two thousand years ago. Jesus is still in the world—here in this gathering, in the Eucharist, in our brothers and sisters in need, and within ourselves as we act in his name. May we “live as children of light,” as Paul told the Ephesians (5:8), opening the eyes of others and guiding them to what is good and righteous and true.
Question of the Week
What keeps me from seeing the truth? What keeps me from acknowledging what I see?
-from Pastoral Patterns
readings of the mass
LISTEN HEREto the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, March 19, 2023
SELECT HEREfor the Readings of Sunday, March 19, 2023
Offerings
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