Fourth Sunday of Lent A: March 19, 2023

The gospel from John this Sunday is about the curing of the young man born blind. It begins with taunts from the Pharisees and ends with a confession of faith. But for the young man, it is not a question of showing up the Pharisees who are trying to trip up Jesus into making some kind of theological mistake. His encounter with Jesus is not just to prove that Jesus is a prophet. Rather, this encounter with Jesus is very personal for him. In a sense, he has been preparing for it for all the years he has been alive. He has been praying, suffering the discomfort of not seeing what everyone else easily sees. He has had the time to hunger for God to come to him, and if not heal him, to give him comfort. And once the young man has experience the love and healing of Jesus, he is able to publicly confess Jesus as the “Son of Man” who would save all from their sins.

I have to say that this unnamed young man has personality and character. I would say that his waiting did not make him bitter or selfish. His heart was open to Jesus, not closed in on himself. When he was healed, he joyfully confessed Jesus as the source of his healing. And, when sharply questioned by the Pharisees questioned him and tried to make Jesus out to be a fraud and a sinner, he said, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” When the pressed him, he answered them sternly saying that if this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything. When he met Jesus later, he saw and believed.

We have now reached the middle of Lent. It is a good time to ask: “How have I been doing in my preparation for Easter; Am I preparing myself for my confession of Jesus as the Risen Lord?” Our relationship with the Lord cannot be taken for granted and not brought to maturity. If we do that, we just might not be ready to have faith in him and bring him to others. Lent has been a time of preparation since the days of the early church. Even Our Lord made a preparation of 40 days before he began his public ministry as we saw on the first Sunday of Lent. Can we do any less that this yearly preparation of 40 days?

With this preparation are we ready to rededicate ourselves to becoming Jesus’ mouth, hands and feet as Easter arrives once again. We are human beings, and most of us need to refocus often. Accepting Jesus into our lives is no light matter. We need the grace of being close to Him to be able to be a faithful disciple, and like the young man born blind,”I do believe,” and so be an instrument of his peace.