Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) – Year A March 15
Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
Brothers and sisters,
This Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally called Laetare Sunday. Laetare means “Rejoice.” Even in the middle of our Lenten journey, the Church invites us to pause and rejoice, because Easter is drawing near. We see a glimpse of the joy that will come with the Resurrection of Christ. The theme that runs through today’s readings is vision—seeing clearly, not only with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of faith.
In the first reading, from the First Book of Samuel, the prophet Samuel is sent by God to anoint the new king of Israel. When Samuel sees the strong and impressive sons of Jesse, he assumes that one of them must be God’s chosen one. But God tells him something very important: “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart. “Eventually the youngest son, David the one no one even thought to call in from the fields is chosen by God. This reminds us that God’s vision is very different from ours. We often judge by appearances. God sees the heart.
In the second reading, from the Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul the Apostle tells Christians: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light.” Faith in Christ changes how we see the world. It helps us recognize what is truly good, true, and beautiful.
Then in today’s Gospel from the Gospel of John, Jesus meets a man who was blind from birth. With compassion, Jesus heals him and gives him sight. But something surprising happens. The man who was blind begins to see clearly not only physically, but spiritually. Meanwhile, the religious leaders, who think they understand everything, become increasingly blind. The blind man slowly comes to recognize who Jesus is. First, he calls him “the man called Jesus.” Then he says Jesus is a prophet. Finally, he declares his faith and worships him as Lord.
But the Pharisees, who believe they already see the truth, refuse to recognize what God has done. That is why Jesus says at the end of the Gospel: “Those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” In other words, the greatest obstacle to faith is thinking we already have all the answers. Spiritual blindness is not just something that happened two thousand years ago. It can happen to any of us.
We all have what we might call blind spots in our lives.
Just as the human eye has a physiological blind spot, and drivers have blind spots when they are on the road, we also have blind spots in our hearts. Perhaps we are blind to our own faults, while easily noticing the faults of others. Perhaps we overlook the needs of people around us someone who is lonely, struggling, or in pain.
It is even possible to be outwardly religious and still miss what really matters. The Pharisees knew the Scriptures and observed the religious laws, but they failed to see the suffering man standing right in front of them. Jesus wants to heal those blind spots in us.
Lent is precisely the time when we ask the Lord to open our eyes.
Through prayer, fasting, and charity, we allow Christ to shine his light into the darker corners of our lives—those places where pride, resentment, jealousy, or selfishness may remain.
There is a story about the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. John Watson. One night they are camping and fall asleep under the stars. After a while Holmes wakes Watson and asks, “Look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replies: “I see millions of stars. Astronomically, it suggests countless galaxies. Theologically, it reminds me that God is great and we are small. Meteorologically, it suggests tomorrow will be a beautiful day.” Holmes pauses and says, “Watson, you idiot—someone has stolen our tent!” Watson was clever enough to notice the complexities of the stars, but he missed the obvious truth right in front of him.
In a similar way, the Pharisees in today’s Gospel were so busy arguing about religious rules that they completely missed the miracle God had performed before their eyes. And sometimes we can do the same. We can become so busy, so distracted, so certain of our own opinions, that we fail to recognize God at work in our lives and in the lives of others. But the good news is this: Jesus is always ready to give us sight. When the blind man encountered Christ, his life changed completely. He not only received physical sight; he came to see the truth about Jesus. That is the journey we are making during Lent. Step by step, Christ helps us see more clearly—who God is, who we are, and how we are called to love one another.
So today, on this Laetare Sunday, as we rejoice in the light that Christ brings, let us pray with humility: “Lord, open our eyes.”
Open our eyes to your presence in the Eucharist.
Open our eyes to the needs of those around us.
Open our eyes to the ways you are calling us to grow and change.
And as St. Paul reminds us, may we truly live as children of the light, walking toward the joy of Easter with clearer vision and deeper faith.
Amen.