Reflection for Sunday 15th March, 2026

4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)

Children of Light (John 9:1-14)

Last Sunday we had the story of Jesus sitting with the Samaritan woman at the well, offering her the living water of friendship and mercy. Today we have a second baptismal story from John’s Gospel, the miracle of sight for the blind. In the early centuries of the Church, baptism was known as a Sacrament of Light.

Lent is a preparation for Easter when we will hold a candle lit from the Paschal candle as we renew our baptismal promises, saying “NO” to the ways of darkness, and “YES” to our Creed.

“I am the light of the world, says the Lord, Anyone who follows me will have the light of life.“

1.Jesus the Man

In today’s Gospel, the blind man who was cured by Jesus advanced from physical sight to spiritual sight. Reflect on the ascending titles the healed man gives to Jesus … man, prophet and Lord. First, he is referred to as “the man called Jesus.” The surest way of knowing what God is like is constant study of the human life of Jesus, the Word made flesh. God has spoken to us in the human life of Jesus, a language we can understand. What did he say, how did he feel, what were his ideals, how did he respond to situations?

2.Jesus the Prophet

The prophet is one who can discern the presence of God now and in the future. Jesus had an extraordinary ability to foresee goodness and beauty in the most unlikely people. Peter was a hot-tempered fisherman. James and John were called the Suns of Thunder. Matthew was a collector of taxes for the Romans while Simon was a Zealot prepared to kill any Roman soldier. Judas betrayed Jesus. One of the eight beatitudes reads, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” True followers of the light of Christ overcome former differences as they now see other people as God’s creation, recipients of God’s mercy.
By contrast, those who are spiritually sick view other people with a jaundiced eye. And everything looks yellow to the jaundiced eye. When our prejudices are strong, we use our eyes more as a murky inlet than as windows of goodness. As Francis Langbridge wrote,
“Two men look out through the same bars:
One sees mud, the other the stars.”

3.Jesus is Lord

The jaundiced Pharisees simply will not believe that this blind man was healed by Jesus. There are none so blind as those who will not see. The more the healed man is questioned, the higher are the titles he applies to Jesus … man, prophet, and finally Lord.
“Do you believe in the Son of Man (a divine title)?”
“Sir, tell me who he is so that I may believe in him?”
“You are looking at him; he is speaking to you,”
“Lord, I believe,” and worshipped him.

The Church is the Light of Christ

Jesus is the light of the world and his Church is called to be Lumen Christi, the Light of Christ. In today’s Second Reading, Saint Paul tells the Ephesians, “You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness, and right living and truth” (Eph 5:8).
Nowadays a Referendum is won by concealing lies under cloaks of attractive slogans. Killing a child in the womb is camouflaged as compassion. Paul continues his advice to the Ephesians: “Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness but exposing them by contrast. The things that are done in secret are things that people are ashamed even to speak of; but anything exposed by light will be illuminated and anything illuminated turns into light. That is why it is said: Wake up from your sleep, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Lent is a preparation for Easter. It is a season to challenge our mediocrity, to wake us up from our slumber so that we will rise with Christ. At Easter we publicly state that we renounce the works of darkness and commit ourselves to the light of Christ.
“I am the light of the world, says the Lord,
Anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Let us pray with catechumens preparing for Baptism

Father of mercy, you led the man born blind to the kingdom of light through the gift of faith in your Son. Free us from the false values that might surround and blind us. Set us firmly in your truth, children of the light forever. Stir up our desire for what is good. Let us rejoice in your light, that we may see, and like the man born blind whose sight was restored, let us be fearless witnesses to the faith, for you are Lord for ever and ever. Amen.