And Now I See

Our Lenten journey ends with Holy Week. Jesus revealed himself to us through the Readings for the past three weeks. On the 4th Sunday in Lent, he reveals something very important: Jesus is the light of the world. In the First Reading from Samuel (1 Samuel 16:b, 6-7, 10-13a), the Lord says that man does not see as God does, “the Lord looks into the heart.”

Short Sightedness

We as humans are often limited to seeing only the surface, but God sees straight to our hearts. God invites us to see with him as he shows us the things that are beyond the surface. Lent can be a good exercise in seeing beyond ourselves. It’s a reminder that the Lord leads us out of our difficult moments. How often do we forget this when we get lost or confused during our personal struggles in darkness? St. Paul wandered around in darkness until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. This encounter knocked Paul on the ground and it blinded him for a short while, but as he was able to see again it changed his life. Paul tells us to live as children of the light because light produces every kind of goodness. Jesus is that light. We can only imagine how life must have changed for the beggar in the Gospel (John 9:1-41) who was blind since birth. He recognized Jesus, believed and followed him. Unfortunately, the Pharisees didn’t see it that way. They turned a blind eye to what was good and criticized what they saw as wrong. They could not see the true light of Jesus. Or worse, they saw but refused to believe.

Homework

During Lent, we are challenged to recognize Jesus in our work, where we live, in our struggles and in the lives of others. But I think that sometimes we get caught up in our own struggles, maybe even consumed, that we fail to see what is at the heart of the matter. Of course our challenges are important, but we must try to see that God is in the middle of everything we do and recognize the face of Jesus as the light of the world. As we journey together in these last two weeks of Lent, let’s find this light and let it knock us to the ground. When we get up, we will walk to a new place of sight and eternal life.

Karen Curjel