4th Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday
(Mothers Day)
“Jesus said ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ The blind man replied ‘Lord, I believe.’”
There are two intertwined themes in today’s readings. The first is about light and darkness. Jesus being the focal point of the true faith, the source of light and the giver of sight. St Paul in our second reading encourages the Ephesians to live in the light and to avoid the darkness of sin. Young David, in our first reading, is brought into God’s light and was anointed King. David being singled out by God who sees the inmost depths of his heart, a man of faith.
The second theme is baptism. The man born blind was converted, baptised in the pool of Siloam, and given both a physical healing of sight, and also a spiritual healing of the heart, as he came to believe in Jesus Christ and worshipped Him.
The blind man signifies us, Humankind. While we were all born into original sin, we were blind in our faith at birth. We could also say, living as Christians now, we have our own personal blind spots in our day to day lives. However, God is a Father of love and mercy, He sent down his only Son, Jesus to heal our sin and division, giving us sight of true faith and wisdom of heart.
In the Gospel Jesus smears mud on the eyes of the blind man, and we are smeared with Holy Oil at our Baptism. The blind man was washed in the pool of Siloam, and we were washed in the baptismal font in the Church.
The blind man gained sight and understanding in faith in Jesus and so do we, receiving sight in faith, hope and charity in Jesus Christ through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
During this fourth Sunday of Lent, is a day to stop and reflect on the joys of Easter, Jesus being the ‘Light of the World’, gaining ‘New Life’ with Him at His Resurrection. Lent is the liturgical colour of purple and Easter being the colour of White. So, if we mix the two together, we get Rose.
The only other day in the church’s calendar where we wear Rose is on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, when the rose candle is lit on the advent wreath, because we are ‘Joyful’ once again, and ready to partake in the big festive celebrations.
Jesus is our Salvation. He is the source of our light and our hope. He has made us beacons of His light. A light that has been entrusted to us to be kept shining brightly in our lives, setting an example for others to follow, by leading good Christian lives.
Whoever, believes and accepts their Christian faith, will have their eyes opened, and hearts lifted out of the darkness, into God’s wonderful divine light, that liberates us and heals our spiritual blindness. Making us have the confidence to say the words of our psalm today “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want”.
So, today is a time to relax from all your Penitential commitments, especially for all the mother’s here today. As it is your special day, to relax and put your feet up. Enjoy the celebrations with your family and friends, making sure someone else is doing the cooking.
Let us rejoice, because Our Lord and shepherd, lightens our way and heals us from our blindness, bringing us ever closer to Him. We have been called ‘Children of the Light’, let us continue to say in our hearts ‘O Lord, I believe in you, help me, so that I may see.’
Rev. Fr Philip Wrigley's Blog 