Today is Laetare Sunday. The
liturgy, our Church’s worship
tells us to rejoice. We rejoice
because God is our Shepherd. We
rejoice because he brought us out
of the darkness of unbelief into the
marvelous light of faith. We rejoice
because in three Sundays from now
we shall commemorate the saving
events through which he paid the
price that set us free. Our joy is born
out of these great privileges.
One of the most famous converts
to Christianity is Clive Staples Lewis,
commonly known as C.S Lewis. He
was a writer, novelist and a schol-
ar, and he continues to favourably
influence readers of all ages even
toady with his brilliant, riveting and
thought-provoking works.
In spite of being born in Belfast,
Ireland, Lewis grew disillusioned with
religion, possibly because his head-
master, who was also a clergyman
and a very strict disciplinarian, firmly
believed in the well-worn adage:
“Spare the rod and you will spoil the
child.”But Lewis was a voracious read-
er, which eventually led to his interest
in Christianity and by God’s grace, to
his eventual conversion. What is truly
remarkable about C.S. Lewis is the
fact that he earnestly took to heart the
words of Jesus, “You are the Salt of the
earth…you are the light of the world.”
And that is just what he has striven
to do in all his writings- to serve as
a guiding light to his readers, so that
they, in turn will be touched by the
grace of God to make a personal
and firm commitment to move from
darkness and embracing Jesus who is
the light of the world.
Today, the fourth Sunday of Lent, Je-
sus manifests that he is the light of the
world and He declares: “I have come
into the world, so that those without
sight may see and those with sight
may turn blind.” (John 9:39). Today,
as he was passing, he saw a man who
was blind from birth. His disciples
said to him: Rabbi, who sinned, this
man or his parents, for him to have
been born blind? “It was neither he
nor his parents who sinned; Jesus
told them. He was blind so that in
him there might be demonstration
of what God can do.”
After reading the story of the blind
man to the end, you will notice that
the Pharisees did not share the same
mission with Christ. They did not
seek to give sight to the blind nor
light to people in darkness, rath-
er what they did was to insult and
humiliate blind people, sinners and
those who have one form of mis-
fortune or the other. Blindness is a
dangerous disease, but even more
dangerous is the refusal to accept
or acknowledge our blindness and
limitations.
A famous philosophical quotation
states: “He who knows not and knows
not he knows not: he is a fool – shun
him. He who knows not and knows
he knows not: he is simple – teach
him. He who knows and knows not
he knows: he is asleep – wake him.
He who knows and knows he knows:
he is wise – follow him.” This is to
say that we ought to acknowledge
what we are, as well accept what we
are not and have not. Little wonder
Jesus truthfully avers: “I came into
the world so that those who do not
see might see and those who see
might become blind.” He came into
the world so that those who know
not and know they know not might
learn and see the light, and those who
know not and know not that they
know not, and those who are blinded
by their myopic opinions might
remain blind.
The washing at the pool of Siloam
is a figure of baptism, and the whole
drama is an image of our transition
from the blindness and darkness of
sin into God’s own marvelous light
and grace, through the merits of
Christ. As St Paul says in the Sec-
ond Reading: “You were darkness
once, but now you are light in the
Lord” (Ephesians 5:8). St. Paul knew
darkness, the darkness of his own sin
and fanaticism. But when Jesus broke
into his life, Paul turned from deeds
of darkness to the light that produces
every kind of goodness.
The writer of the Song ‘Amazing
Grace’ John Newton declares: ‘I was
once blind but now I see.’ Truly, we
experience some kind of blindness at
different stages of our lives that has
led us to make very wrong decisions.
And sometimes we are even like the
Pharisees, especially when we are
reluctant to open ourselves to God
and his plan for us because we do not
want our preconceptions, prejudices
or comfortable lifestyles challenged or
changed. Lent is time for change, for
re-evaluations and for opening our
lives to Jesus so he can shine his light
on these dark spots of our lives and to
be renewed through the sacrament of
reconciliation.
Therefore let us pray that the Lord
frees us from all forms of spiritual
darkness that impede our spiritual
progress. Amen!
“You were darkness
once, but now you
are light in the Lord”
(Ephesians 5:8)
