Fourth Sunday of Lent

Jan 30 2025

The Gift of Sight and Vision

My name is Samuel, after the great prophet who anointed our first kings, Saul and David. I used to think my parents showed their sense of humor by naming their blind son after Samuel the seer. But even he didn’t always see clearly.

When Samuel went to Jesse’s house that day, he thought for sure God wanted him to anoint the eldest, Eliab, tall and handsome, just like Saul had been. But God brought him up short: “No, no, no—not him!” Ended up being the youngest out in the fields tending sheep. A case of the see-er not seeing. Easy to get blinded by appearances, I could not see Jesus, so I couldn’t be blinded by his appearance, or unimpressed if he wasn’t that remarkable to look at. But I could tell he had God’s power in him. And a fire. After smearing mud on my eyes, he told me to wash in the pool of Siloam. I did. And I saw.

Then the trouble started. My neighbors started arguing, then the Pharisees got into it, and they got my poor parents. Well, I told them he was from God. That’s when they threw me out. And suddenly I hear someone say, “Do I believe in the Son of Man?” Without any hesitation, I said: “I do believe, Lord.” He said he came into the world so the blind might see and those who saw might be blind.

Consider/Discuss

Why would Jesus say he came into the world so that those who do see might become blind?
What kind of seeing does Jesus bring about?

Responding to the Word

Jesus, you are the light come into the world. Sometimes I feel lost in the dark, not sure where I am and which way to go. Enlighten my mind so I may understand more fully the direction you wish me to go in my life. Help me to see so I can serve you.

Jan 30 2025

Scripture Study for

The search for the new king and the choice and anointing of David open a new chapter in the story of the Israel. Each step of the way is determined by God, making this a history of salvation. God decided from which family the kings would come, and even which son would be chosen from that family. No one in Jesse’s family even considered David as a viable candidate, but God did. It seems that God often chooses the least likely to accomplish great deeds. Once David was anointed king, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, confirming the choice of him to rule the people.

The binary opposition of light/darkness is a very significant theme. The Ephesians are told that before they knew Christ, they were so much a part of darkness that they were actually identified with it. Having accepted Christ, they are now identified with the light that comes from the Lord. They are told that they must now live as children of that light. There is a play on the difference between virtuous behavior that can be plainly seen, because it is done in the light, and shameful behavior that is hidden in the secret of darkness. The Ephesians are to hold fast to the new life that has been given to them and live in the light.

The account of the healing of the man born blind is filled with the symbolism of darkness/light, blindness/sight. The man was born blind and so he lived his life in darkness. However, his ultimate insight into the identity of Jesus was rewarded with the gift of sight. In a very real sense, the man is now a new creation, both physically with sight and spiritually with faith. The Pharisees, on the other hand, enjoyed the power of sight, but they were blind to the great powers exercised by Jesus. Furthermore, when given the opportunity to move into the light of faith, they chose the darkness of disbelief.

Jan 29 2025

Going in the Right Direction

You rarely hear anyone use the word “hellbent” these days, but it could easily be used to describe the Jewish people before the Babylonian empire destroyed their capital city of Jerusalem in 587 B.C., along with the temple, and then sent its people into exile. Second Chronicles tells a sad story: Judah’s princes, priests, and people had all turned away from the Lord. They had become a people hell bent on self-destruction. So finally, the Lord cut them loose.

Of course, the story does not end there. A new dawn comes with the ascendan cy of the Persian empire under its leader Cyrus, who looked more kindly on the Jewish people, allowing them to return home to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. And we are reminded that the hand of a merciful God is behind this.

Ephesians also speaks of a God rich in mercy, who loved us “even when were dead in our transgressions,” and who “brought us to life with Christ . . . raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:5–6, 10). For the author of Ephesians this has already happened. It might not feel that way to us much of the time, but faith calls us to see ourselves as “God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus.”

Imagine if we tried living out of that vision for the coming week! Imagine if we really took seriously that God truly loved the world so much that “he gave his only Son” to bring us all eternal life (see John 3:16)

Consider/Discuss

Do you recognize God as a God of unending mercy who loves us—all of us?
How can this Lent be a season of conversion for the whole community?

Responding to the Word

Merciful God, you sent your Son to bring us to the fullness of life, now and hereafter. May this season of Lent be a time when we recognize increasingly what it means to choose to live in the light of Christ. Give us the courage to do so each day.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

The first reading is quite poignant as it describes how, despite the sinfulness of the people, God was moved to compassion. Again and again prophets were sent to this corrupt nation, but to no avail. Not only did the people ignore the prophets, they actively derided them. Because of this callous contempt, the avenging anger of God was unleashed. The demise of the monarchy, the collapse of the temple system of worship, and the deportation of the people were the inevitable consequences of this hardhearted obstinacy. The reading ends on a note of hope. The people are told to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.

The image of God that is sketched in the first verses of the reading from Ephesians is very dynamic. God is rich in mercy; has great love for us; has brought us to life, raised us up, and seated us with Christ in glory. Unable to save our selves, we receive our salvation as a pure gift from God. The contrast between the graciousness of God and human inadequacy is drawn in bold strokes. When we were dead in sin, God made us alive in Christ. Why? Not because we deserved it, but because God is rich in mercy, because God loves us.

Jesus declares that just as healing came to those who looked on the bronze serpent that Moses raised up (Numbers 21:8–9), so life eternal comes to those who believe in the Son of Man, who was raised up in both ignominy and exaltation. Although the world was created good, it often stands in opposition to God and consequently is in need of being saved. God’s love for the world is so deep that nothing is spared for its salvation, not even God’s only Son. This Son, Jesus Christ, is the true light, and those who choose him live in that light, or live in the truth; those who do not believe are in darkness.

Jan 24 2025

Led by the Light

In some places in the U.S., flowers are blooming and the sun is shining: spring has come. Here at my house in the Midwest, it is still late winter. This particular week in March is when I plant my tomatoes and my peppers in my seed room. I suspend bright lights two inches above the flats to keep them warm. Where light glows, the plants spring upward when they germinate. Did you know that seeds with no light will grow in any direction—sidewise, upward, or upside down?

Similarly, people in nursing homes or hospitals, having only artificial lightbulbs, can lose track of the natural rhythms of night and day. Third-shift workers may experience that same disorientation. The body does not know when it is dark and when it is light.

I recall a disoriented time in my life at seventeen. The world felt directionless. Was there was a purpose to anything that I did? I remember thinking, as we sped down the interstate, “If I opened the door and fell out of this car and died, nobody would really care.” I had a vague sense of God’s care, but that love was like a weak light bulb far away.

The Letter to the Ephesians calls us from darkness to light: “Live like those who are at home in the daylight.” Jesus touches the blind man’s eyes and he sees. The “light of the world” changes things. He did for me. I hope that he has done so for you.

Yet some may prefer the darkness, Jesus says. Nobody enjoys being directionless, so other directions are marketed to “save us,” to lift us from darkness to light —from football to coffee, yoga, and massage therapy. But can any “thing” truly replace Jesus as Savior, the true light of the world?

Consider/Discuss

Depression and despair are growing in our culture. Suicide and drug use rates have lowered life expectancy. How do we help those we love to transform from a perception of God as “a weak light bulb far away” to the radiant Love who is near? What can we personally do to be Jesus’ light to a world that feels hopeless and directionless?
When have you ever felt like the man born blind? When have you experienced Jesus as the light who brings you out of that darkness? Personal stories are most effective in bringing about transformation. Could you share that story with someone who is feeling as though he or she lives in the shadows?

Living and Praying the Word

Jesus, light of the world, thank you for leading us through dark valleys and out of despair. Like young David, anoint us to follow you wholeheartedly wherever you direct. We want to sprout. We want to grow. We want to bear fruit that will nourish others. Help us to grow always toward your light.