Reflection for the Vigil of the Forth Sunday in Lent

“Rabbi, who sinned?” Perhaps that is our question when something horrible happens to us. Why me? What did I do to deserve this? I didn’t ask for this. Jesus does not answer the question, but tells His disciples it is an opportunity to work while it is day. He announces that as long as He is in the world He is the light of the world. St. Paul, in the second reading reminds us that once we were in darkness, but now we are to live and work like Jesus as children of light. 

Once again, as in Genesis, our creative God uses mud to create new life. He smears mud on the eyes of this young man and tells him to go wash it off. The man obeyed. He could see for the first time in his young life! Have you noticed? He did not even ask Jesus for help. Was he too young to be 

“desperate”? Up to this point in his life he sat and begged. Was he comfortable with his life? Did he have everything under control? Did he have any real need for God? 

The journey to maturity was just beginning for this young man. The neighbors argued about his identity even as he kept saying: “I am the man!” Then he is badgered with questions: “How did it happen?” “Where is Jesus now?” To make matters worse, they took him to the Pharisees. They said: “Jesus is a sinner! He doesn’t keep the Sabbath! How can a sinner do good things?” Then they questioned if he was really born blind. It gets worse. Even the frightened parents are brought in for questioning. They should be frightened. Father Witherup in our current Give Us This Day says: ”Being shunned by the synagogue community could jeopardize one’s entire family. Being outcast is a hurtful experience that sometimes forces exaggerated and vengeful reactions.” Now the young man stands alone, and the questioning round of how and who and what continue.

Ronald Rolheiser reveals for us a deep truth: “….sometimes in order to grow we must first fall apart, go into the dark, lose our grip on what’s normal, enter into a frightening chaos, lose our everyday securities, and be carried in pain to a place where, for all kinds of reasons, we weren’t ready to go on our own.” 

But Jesus, like a good shepherd, finds the young man. “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “Lord, I believe.” The pain is now light! He sees goodness, righteousness, and truth. Now he has a real need for God! He feels a creative future awaiting him: service replaces greed; love over violence; respect and dialogue above coercion. 

What about us? Like the young man in today’s Gospel we have been chosen to be children of light. And why? God needs no reason to love us. Do we need a reason for being loved? Can we just allow God’s love to surround us? 

We are halfway through the season of Lent. Let us check our Lenten resolutions; our hopes; our prayers. Let us ask ourselves.: “Am I gaining insight into how dependentI I am on God? How do I need God’s grace?: What is God doing in me this Lent?