Posted: 3/31/2011 7:06:33 PM EDT
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April 3, 2011
First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1b,6-7,10-13a 1b Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." 6 When they came, he looked on Eli'ab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he comes here." 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he." 13a Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Psalm: Psalms 23:1-6 R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side With your rod and your staff that give me courage. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14 8 For once you were darkness but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; 13 but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. 14 Therefore it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light." Gospel: John 9:1-41 1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay, 7 saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Silo'am" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man." 10 They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, `Go to Silo'am and wash'; so I went and washed and received my sight." 12 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know." 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." 16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them. 17 So they again said to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." 18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight, 19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" 20 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself." 22 His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any one should confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age, ask him." 24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner." 25 He answered, "Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see." 26 They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" 27 He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you too want to become his disciples?" 28 And they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." 30 The man answered, "Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if any one is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." 34 They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of man?" 36 He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" 37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you." 38 He said, "Lord, I believe"; and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this, and they said to him, "Are we also blind?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, `We see,' your guilt remains. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Overview of the Gospel: * In this Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:10), a feast marked by the lighting of large candelabra and torchlight processions. He is in the temple with his disciples on the Sabbath a few months before his Passion. * While in the temple, Jesus heals a blind man using clay made from his own saliva, which he smears on (literally, “anoints”) the blind man’s eyes. Jesus instructs the blind man to wash in the pool of Siloam and the blind man is cured. The blind man, acting first out of trust and obedience, comes to believe in Jesus as Lord. Jesus enemies, however, miss the significance of the cure, instead focusing on its perceived illegality (verses 14, 16. See Luke 13:16, 14:5). * As the preceding Sunday’s reading focused on “water” (John 4:5-42. See also John 7:37), the theme of “light” is emphasized here (see John 8:12). Also, as in the case of the Samaritan woman, the blind man has a progression of faith (verses 11, 17, 33, 35). The Pharisees that are opposing Jesus, however, have their own faith progression, moving from mere doubt (verse 16) to blasphemy (verse 24) to injustice (verse 34). Questions: * In the 1st Reading, how does Samuel let superficial appearances influence his judgment? How am I too quick to let my prejudices and preconceptions limit God’s work in my life? * In the 2nd Reading what does St. Paul mean when he refers to “light”? To “darkness”? How are, or how can, each of these be operative in each of our lives? * In the Gospel Reading, what assumptions lie behind the disciple’s question (verse 1)? What does Jesus’ answer reveal about how he views the blind man’s suffering? * In this story, what are “the works of God” (verse 3)? The “night” that is coming (verse 4)? The “light of the world” (verse 5)? How are sin and suffering related? * Note the conflicting claims to knowledge and certainty on the parts of the Pharisees, the parents, and the man born blind. What is each party sure of? Not sure of? In response to the man’s growing spiritual insight, how are the Pharisees progressing? Which way is your faith progressing? * When you hear of another’s misfortune, do you react like the disciples of Jesus? Why? * What physical or emotional misfortune in your life has turned into an opportunity for God to demonstrate his power? |
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* In the 1st Reading, how does Samuel let superficial appearances influence his judgment? How am I too quick to let my prejudices and preconceptions limit God’s work in my life*
Poor Samuel. He's supposed to go out and anoint the next King. He's told to go to Jesse and choose one of his sons. In those days, the first born son enjoyed "primogeniture." The first-born always had the right to inherit before all others; he was always in "first place." So you'd think Samuel would just follow tradition and choose the eldest, Eli'ab. Nope. God tells Samuel to pass up the obvious "man made" choice of the eldest son, in favor of the youngest son (God's choice!) Samuel was swayed by outward appearances and customs. God looked into each son's heart and found David the most worthy. Outward material things really don't count with God. * In the Gospel Reading, what assumptions lie behind the disciple’s question (verse 1)? What does Jesus’ answer reveal about how he views the blind man’s suffering? The Jews believed that infirmities or personal calamity were caused by either one's own sin or that of the parents. But if the blind man was blind since birth, there was a real problem: how could a person sin before they were born in order to become blind? The disciples are puzzled. Might the blind man have been punished "in advance" of his sin he was expected to commit? Nope. Jesus says no to this. * In this story, what are “the works of God” (verse 3)? The “night” that is coming (verse 4)? The “light of the world” (verse 5)? How are sin and suffering related? The works of God are the healing and transformative powers of God. Kind of interesting that the man blind from birth becomes an example of God's healing. His misfortune leads to the ability of God to demonstrate His infinite mercy. Sin and suffering are related from the very beginning. Look what happened in the Garden of Eden. We all share in original sin and actual sins. All acts have consequences, and when we disobey God, in His infinite mercy, He forgives us, but there can be very dire consequences to our disobedience: suffering. "Night" is spiritual darkness and sin––a possible prefigurement of when Jesus is no longer here on earth, since He is "the light of the world." Light is a big theme in today's Good News. 
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What I love about this week's Gospel reading is the imagery that reminds us of the Sacraments. The big one here is the sacrament of Baptism. The man is "anointed" with the mud, washed in the water and his life is renewed. In Baptism, we are anointed with oil, just as David was anointed with oil by Samuel, for a special purpose. We become part of the Mystical Body of Christ - we have a mark on our soul and we belong to Him. The water washes away our sins and we become sharers in the mission of the Church - we are "sent" (hmmm, the pool of Silo'am means what......) to bring the Light of Christ to the world.
Jesus' use of something physical to demonstrate his healing of the blind man takes us back to Genesis and brings us forward to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. God "formed the man out of clay of the ground." Surely the crowds would have gotten this connection. Jesus is using the clay to create a new life for the blind man. When we hear this reading today, we cannot help but think of what God does with bread and wine in the Eucharist. Jesus didn't need to do anything to the man to heal him, but he uses the clay because He knows our human nature. We want things, we accumulate things, so He puts Himself into things and gives Himself to us. What an amazing and transforming gift He gives us in the Eucharist!! All we need to say is "Lord, I believe"....... |