HOMILY FOR THE 4TH SUNDAY OF LENT LAETARE ( YR A) MARCH 19, 2023
“Trials and tribulations offer us a chance to make reparation for our past faults and sins. On such occasions, the Lord comes to us like a physician to heal the wounds left by our sins. Tribulation is the divine medicine.” St. Augustine of Hippo
SUNDAY READINGS
My Dearest Friends in Christ,
Today’s readings are an invitation to invite Christ into our lives to restore our spiritual sight and to never give up faith in God when the misfortunes of life compel us to do so. I have come to the realization that we Christians do not really understand the ways of God. Honestly, the world and Christians are far from understanding who God is. That is why the Christian life is a continuous struggle to come to the knowledge of God and His ways. Faith is that instrument that fully understands the nature of God in which human reason is greatly limited. In our age of rationalism, we have subordinated everything to the measure of human reason and that is why we have lost the touch and grasp of the ways of God whose standard measures everything impeccably.
Looking Beyond Appearances
Why do I say we are far from understanding God? In the first reading, Samuel’s evaluation of who should be the rightful king was based on some physical observable characteristics. Maybe in our day, one would look for such qualities as beauty, height, weight, level of education, work experience, leadership skills, etc. God’s own scale of evaluation is based on latent qualities not measurable by human standards. In fact, God searches the heart. He knows the secret thoughts of men and women. He is never mistaken in His choice. Most of the mistakes we make today in the choice of leaders and daily preferences are because our evaluations are based on physical measurable properties that are often deceptive and changing. Now I understand better why we are always encouraged to pray, asking God to guide us in the choices we make. Had God not spoken to Samuel, he would have anointed the wrong king. Do you see why God’s ways are different and why you need to trust in His guidance absolutely? “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord (cf. Isaiah 55:8)
Understanding The Ways of God– Need For Spiritual Sight
Today’s Gospel leaves us wondering, even more, why God’s ways are really different. Who would have believed that the man born blind was made to be so that the works of God might be made visible through him? Only God knows how disappointed the parents were the day they gave birth to a blind child. Who knows if they cursed God?
My dearest, have you now understood why I said we don’t really understand God’s ways.? We often don’t understand why things have gone wrong. We live in a world of mysteries. The story of this innocent man born blind is one of such mysteries. The disciples themselves sought to understand this mystery/misfortune when they asked: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” It makes us feel less vulnerable if we can understand the cause of misfortune because that might help us to avoid it. That misfortune might strike randomly is terrifying. So it is natural that the disciples should inquire about the cause of the blind man’s blindness. The disciples’ question assumes that suffering is caused by sin. It could be the parents’ sin. Exodus 20:5 says, “ I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me“. This thought is repeated in Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18; and Deuteronomy 5:9.
It May Not Be Your Fault
Jesus denies that man’s suffering is caused by sin. Instead, his situation provides an opportunity for Jesus to heal the man born blind, thereby revealing God’s works. However, we should not forget that there is a connection between sin and suffering. That was not true in the case of this blind man, but it is often true. Not all suffering is caused by sin, but all sin causes suffering. Jesus shows us that sin and suffering are not always related, but not that they are never related.
Don’t Give Up: It is So That God’s Work Might Be Made Manifest
Our helplessness, confusion, and ignorance in the presence of misfortunes is an invitation for all of us to trust and confide in the absolute and unfailing protection of God who alone knows why things happen the way they do. Do not imitate the Jews who could not believe in the power of God to make the unbelievable and unthinkable possible. Do not be like those who wallow in the blindness of ignorance in their search for revelations to the mysteries of life. God alone holds the key to every explanation. To understand or know God is to trust in His absolute power to protect and heal us. If Jesus made it happen in the life of the blind man, He will make it happen in our lives, especially in this period of global health crises.
Let us harken to the admonitions of Paul in the second reading who enjoined us to “learn what is pleasing to the Lord and take no part in the fruitless works of darkness “. May we use these challenging times to heal the wounds of injustice, misunderstanding, family crises, broken marriages, addictions, and the form of evils that have enslaved, blinded and spiritually estranged us from God and our neighbor. Be the light and never cause darkness in anyone’s life.
I encourage you my dearest, in this Lenten season to cultivate a greater knowledge of God and faith in Him. I ask for the grace in this Holy Mass to unite our sufferings to the Passion of Christ, hoping that someday, the clouds of darkness that have encircled our world will give way to the bright shining rays of joy, peace, and victory over sin.
“Faith is like a bright ray of sunlight. It enables us to see God in all things as well as all things in God.” –St. Francis de Sales
You may see the brightness of the sun with your eyes, but you are blind to the truths of faith that illumine your soul and dispel the ignorance and darkness in your heart. Seek Christ to restore your spiritual sight. – Clems Aladi
I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi (2024)
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