Fourth Sunday
Join us on a Lenten Journey lead by to Anne-Louise DePalo.
LENTEN REFLECTIONS
++ FOURTH SUNDAY ++
REFLECTION FOR MARCH 19, 2023
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
I SAW THE LIGHT
“Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.” Samuel 16:6-7
John 9:7, “He came back able to see.”
“Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.” Ephesians 5:8-9.
As we journey through Lent, we are moving from Winter to Spring. We are currently in Daylight Savings Time and Spring is officially tomorrow. During a recent walk, I saw a blue jay, a woodpecker pecking on the bark of a tree, and a sparrow with a twig in its beak, flying to its nest. The sun rises earlier and sets later. The world is filled with more daylight. There is new growth and rebirth.
How is your Lent going? The question we need to ask is, “Is there light and growth in us?” The spiritual disciplines of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are to bring us closer to Christ and to become more like Him. Christ is the Light.
That is what Saint Paul implores of us in the second reading in Ephesians. We are children of light. Light is defined as a noun, as a natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible; illumination, brightness, and shining. Light can also be an expression in someone’s eyes. This concept is perfectly captured in one of my favorite songs is, “I Saw the Light in Your Eyes” by Todd Rundgren.
As a verb, light means to provide light or illuminations, to ignite, and as an adjective, it is described as brightness. Last Sunday, water was the common denominator in the three readings. This week it is light and sight.
In the first reading, God chooses David because he “sees” into the heart and we are reminded God does not see as we do. David had a heart of light filled with goodness and righteousness – an open heart that allowed the light of the Lord in. Saint Paul explains light allows truth to be revealed. If one is in darkness, one cannot see the truth. “By His infinite light, He can show us His truth openly,” explains theologian, Jacque-Benigne Bossuet.
Saint John’s Gospel of the blind man from the pool of Siloam, (which means sent), lived a life in darkness since birth, unable to see, until Jesus healed him. Jesus healed him of his physical blindness as well as his spiritual blindness. Being able to see, he was on fire and shared the light with others.
Light reveals what is hidden. It allows us to truly see ourselves and see whom we encounter. It makes what is invisible, and visible. We are called to illuminate and ignite love in others. We are to be the light of the world.
We, however; cannot give what we do not have. As Christ is the light we must spend time with Him and be in a personal relationship with Him in order to become light and then emanate light to others. The spiritual master, Father Jacque Phillippe says, “If we stay by the fire long enough, we cannot help but become warm.” As we get closer to Easter, we are moving from Calvary to the Resurrection and the light of new life. Will your light shine?