Saint Rita Catholic Church and School in Webster, NY - An Introduction to the Sunday Scripture Readings

“Not As Man Sees Does God See"

Our readings for this Sunday are all about light vs. darkness, what God sees contrasted with what man cannot see, at least not without God's grace.

Our first reading (1 Samuel 16:1b,6-7,10-13)continues our journey through Salvation history. This week, we hear of the anointing of young David as the future King of Israel. God saw what Samuel did not see. God looked into the heart and chose the ruddy youth David and anointed him to be the new King of Israel, the precursor of Jesus, king of heaven and earth. ”The LORD said, ‘There—anoint him, for this is the one!’ Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers. “

In our Epistle reading (Ephesians 5:8-14), St. Paul reminds us that we have had our spiritual sight restored in Christ Jesus through our Baptism - we are no longer in darkness but are “children of the light.” That brings certain responsibilities and expectations. “Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them. . . .”

Our Gospel reading (John 9:1-41) is the story of Jesus healing the man born blind. Jesus healed the man with spittle and dust (clay), similar to God at creation, who formed man from His spittle and the dust of the earth. This blind man, in his healing, walks a similar journey as last week’s Gospel story of the Woman at the Well. First, they see Jesus as just “a man”, then they see Jesus as “a prophet”, finally, both see Jesus as “the Son of Man”. Jesus said to the man born blind from birth, "Do you believe in the Son of Man? . . . He said, ‘I do believe, Lord,’ and he worshiped him." This is a story about spiritual blindness vs. physical blindness. The blind man sees, but the Pharisees, though they can see physically, are still blind spiritually.

Physical blindness in today's Gospel is a metaphor for spiritual blindness. Even though we see the world around us with our eyes, without God's grace, we are still in darkness. Grace gives the eyes of our soul the ability to see God, to know God, and to share God with others. As Saint Paul tells us, we must live as children of the light. "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031526.cfm