This Sunday is known as Laetare Sunday. Laetare is a Latin word meaning “rejoice.” We are approaching the Easter mystery.
Speaking of rejoicing, yesterday’s St. Paddy’s day celebration reminded me of a story about a flight from Boston to Dublin, Ireland. Shortly after takeoff, the lead flight attendant announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry but there's been a terrible mix-up. We have two hundred passengers, and catering brought only one hundred meals. Anyone kind enough to give up his or her meal will receive free unlimited drinks for the five-hour flight.” Two hours later, the attendant updated, “We still have the 100 meals available.”
Today's word of God challenges us to look beyond appearances, and with the gift of faith, discover three realities:
Jesus as the light who illumines the purpose of life;
ourselves as a light to others in our attitudes and behaviors; and
our fellow human beings as bearers of the light or presence of God,
no matter how hidden that presence may seem.
Let's look at the word of God.
Over 3,000 years ago, King Saul made a mess of things. God inspired Samuel to seek another king. David is overlooked at first, the youngest of eight, an unlikely choice.
Think of how unlikely some of our great leaders seemed to many people. George Washington, looking downright unfriendly with his painful teeth. Someone compared Lincoln's face to a trowel. FDR was wheel-chair bound. Yet, they became admired leaders.
Young David became king of ancient Israel. God saw in him potential for great leadership. The word of God challenges us to look beyond appearances and affirm people's best qualities.
Paul in his letter to the Christian community in Ephesus, Turkey reflects upon light and darkness. Light transforms night into day. Light enables us to study, to discover, to behold the wonders of God’s universe. Light warms, nurtures, sustains, reveals, cheers.
Saint John Henry Newman captured Jesus as light in a wonderful poem:
"Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on! ….
Often, people are in darkness about their purpose. Paul urges us to live as children of light, pleasing God. Jesus illumines our path into eternal life. We too are called to be light, to let our life shine forth with virtues such as integrity, responsibility, courage.
In the Gospel, Jesus cures a blind man. He opens the eyes of this man so that he can see reality. But notice how blind some of the other characters were. Neighbors had been blinded, stereotyping the man. Some Pharisees were blinded by protocol, or fear! Many were blinded to the power of God.
The Gospel challenges us to see Jesus, through the lens of faith, as the light who illumines the purpose of life.
I think of a twentieth century monk, Thomas Merton, who wrote in his autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, about his conversion.
At Cambridge, Merton engaged in reckless drinking and carousing. Then at Columbia University, he delighted classmates with his wit and charm.
A chance encounter with a classic book about the Christian understanding of God changed Merton's life. At St. Bonaventure University, a Franciscan sponsored school, he became instructor of English. He eventually applied to join the friars but was rejected. A friend advised Merton about the Trappist monks. Off he went to Gethsemane, Kentucky.
Throughout his years as a Trappist, Merton wrote dozens of books, poems and articles, and corresponded with religious thinkers and cultural icons, political movers and shakers, people of different faiths or no faith. All of us, he argued, are children of God.
He sought to live a life of prayer, of intimacy with God: through chanting the psalms, daily Eucharist and such practices as the stations of the cross and the rosary. Above all, he sought solitude and contemplation: that inner center within himself where he could feel God's love sustaining him.
Merton's work Seeds of Contemplation noted that noise, more than anything else, sabotages contemplation and blocks out the voice of God within us. Merton asked for the grace to clear his mind of earthly “concerns” so that he could move beyond thoughts and words into a felt awareness of the presence of God.
Yes, he sought to find his true self in God: God abiding in him and he abiding in God. Moreover, Merton sensed the oneness of God all about him, in all creatures and all creation. All were holy. The invisible light of God in all creatures simply had to be made visible.
Our Lenten task, Merton might say, is to let the image of God become manifest in who we are so that each of us, like the person in the Gospel, can say, "Now I can see." Then others may see the likeness of God in our attitudes and behaviors. Amen.
Web Fourth Sunday of Lent
