First reading: 1 Sm. 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a
“The Lord said to Samuel: ‘Fill your horn with oil, and be
on your way. I am sending you to Jesse
of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.’
“As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, he looked at
Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is here before him.’ But the Lord said to Samuel: ‘Do not judge
from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected
him. Not as man sees does God see,
because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any one of these.’ The Samuel asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the
sons you have?’ Jesse replied, ‘There is
still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.’
Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial
banquet until he arrives here.’ Jesse
sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid
appearance. The Lord said, ‘There—anoint
him, for this is he!’ Then Samuel, with
the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from
that day on, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.”
Gospel reading: Jn. 9: 1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38 (short form)
“As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. He spat on the ground and make clay with the
saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, ‘Go wash in the Pool
of Siloam’—which means Sent. So he went
and washed, and came back able to see.
His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar
said, ‘Isn’t this the one who use to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘It is,’ but others said, ‘No, he
just looks like him.’ He said, ‘I
am.’
They brought the one who was once blind to the
Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and
opened his eyes on a Sabbath. So then
the Pharisees also asked him how he able to see. He said to them, ‘He put clay on my eyes, and
I washed, and now I can see.’ So some of
the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, because he does not keep the
Sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a
sinful man do such signs?’ And there was
a division among them. So they said to
the blind man again, ‘What do you have to say about him, since he opened your
eyes? He said, ‘He is a prophet.’
They answered and said to him, ‘You were born totally in
sin, and are you trying to teach us?’
Then they threw him out.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him
and said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’
He answered and said, ‘Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and
the one speaking with you is he.’ He
said, ‘I do believe, Lord,’ and he worshiped him.”
Introductory theme summary:
The common theme from today’s readings is on sight, or
seeing, but not in the general external sense as is commonly understood. Rather the sense being identified is a
conceptual one that points to the interior dimension of sight, which coincides
with God’s way of seeing. Thus, all
sight that focus only on the exterior dimension is referred to as being in “darkness.”
Reflection:
In the Old Testament reading we have depicted for us the error
of judging by appearances. Oh, how
common of an error this is for so many of us. Yet, it is somewhat consoling for
us that a prophet is depicted committing the error. Still, it is a necessary lesson for us
all. No one is merely what they appear
in a physical sense. We are all so much
more than our bodies. Our physicality is
only one dimension of our entire being.
We are all also mind, heart, and spirit.
These four things combine to form the entirety of our being – the soul. It is a grave miscarriage of justice to the
individual for anyone to summarize another person’s value based solely on their
physical appearance. Surprisingly, not
just in the negative sense, but also in the positive sense. How many people gain our approval because of their
physical attributes, but later we discover their interior beings were the
complete opposite of what we presumed?
In the second reading, the issue of darkness is directed to
our actions. The reading implies that
those who do see the light become able to live their lives, morally, in a
manner that reflects such by the light they have perceived. Therefore, continuing to live one’s life in
sin indicates that person has not yet come fully to see the light. It is particularly interesting to note the
shamefulness of merely mentioning the deeds of darkness, which indicates how
repulsed we should be by their commissioning.
Do not envy the irreverence of the disobedient. Be assured!
Theirs is a path to destruction.
The most significant message concerning the light comes from
the gospel reading, which is to realize that Christ is the light. It is by Christ that we receive the interior
perspective that enables us to “see” our way out of darkness. That “light” is very simple to understand. It is by Christ’s indwelling presence that is
communicated to us through our reception of the sacraments – especially the
Eucharist – that we become able to live our lives free of sin. This is the freedom of the children of
God. Those who crucify their flesh become
predisposed to receive Christ, himself, and by that reception we become able to
live as Christ lived for we become that which we receive.
Come, let us be true children of light and show ourselves so
by living as Christ lived.
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