HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A)

Mar 15, 2026

212

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Samuel (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, Samuel 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." Then 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 the one!" Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6)

(R) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures He gives me repose; beside restful waters He leads me; He refreshes my soul. (R)

He guides me in right paths for His name's sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. (R)

You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R)

Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians (5:8-14)

Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.

Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (9:1-41)

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made 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 used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is," but others said, "No, he just looks like him." He said, "I am."

So they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" He replied, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, "Go to Siloam and wash." So I went there and washed and was able to see." And they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know."

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 was 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."

Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?" His parents answered and said, "We know that his is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; question him."

So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner." He replied, "If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see." So they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" They ridiculed him and said, "You are that man's disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from." The man answered and said to them, "This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does His will, He listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything."

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 worshipped him.

Then Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see, might become blind." Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If your were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, "We see", so your sin remains."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

There is a story of a man who was excommunicated for defying Church laws; and so was forbidden from entering his parish church. One day, he took his grievances and woes to God. "They won't let me in, Lord, because I am a sinner," he prayed. "What are you complaining about? They won't let Me in either," God said.

For us Christians, excluding sinners is excluding God. Today's gospel narrative, John (9:1-41), exposes how Jewish religious leaders in Jesus' day, primarily Pharisees and scribes, despised and cast out those they deemed "sinners" including tax collectors, the poor, the sick, the ritually unclean, regarding them as traitors or cursed for not keeping the law. In doing so, they revealed their pride, arrogance, hypocrisy and spiritual blindness. For us to understand today's gospel, we should briefly revisit the story.

One day, Jesus and his disciples encountered a man who had been born blind. The disciples asked Jesus if the man's blindness was due to his own sin or his parents' sin. They raised such a question because they, and many in Jewish culture, believed that physical illnesses and disabilities or congenital suffering were direct punishments from God for sins committed by individuals or their ancestors. Jesus immediately rejected their assumption, stating that neither was the cause. Instead, He redirected their focus from blame to purpose, indicating that the man's blindness was an opportunity for God's power and glory to be revealed.

Jesus then used his saliva to make mud from the earth and applied it to the blind man's eyes and instructed him to wash in the Pool of Siloam, after which the man received his sight. But people who previously knew him as a beggar could not believe that he was the same man, causing confusion over his identity. The man confirmed his identity stating that it was him and yet, they brought him to the Pharisees for formal interrogation because the healing had occurred on the Sabbath. Jesus mixing spit and mud to heal the man's blindness on the Sabbath was seen as a violation of Sabbath law because it involved kneading or producing, which were considered forbidden work under the interpretations of the Torah.

When the pharisees asked the man how he had received his sight, he confidently described the healing process, saying, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me to wash in the Pool of Siloam which I did and now I can see." Despite his explanation, some people counted Jesus as a sinner because He had not kept the Sabbath. Others said that sinners could not perform such miracles, leading to a deep division among them regarding Jesus' authority. When questioned by the Pharisees about the man who healed his blindness, he replied, "He is a prophet." They then interrogated the man's parents if the blindness - and therefore, the healing - was real. The parents confirmed their son's blindness and healing but fearing expulsion from the synagogue and community, deferred to their son, stating "he was of age and could speak for himself."

When pressured again by the Pharisees to discredit Jesus as a sinner, the man stuck to the undeniable fact of his personal experience: "I do not know if He was a sinner. One thing I do know that I was blind and now I see." He ultimately challenged the Pharisees for trying to discredit Jesus as a sinner, arguing that this unprecedented miracle proves that Jesus must be from God. The Pharisees, frustrated by the healed man's unwavering defence of Jesus, insulted him, accused him of being born in sin, and threw him out of the synagogue, effectively excommunicating him. However, following his expulsion, Jesus found him and asked him if he believed in the Son of Man.

When the man asked who He was, Jesus revealed it was He, Himself. The man responded, "I believe, Lord," and worshipped Him, demonstrating a profound transition from mere physical sight to spiritual insight. And at the end, Jesus exposed the spiritual blindness and by extension, the arrogance and pride of the religious leaders, who claimed to possess spiritual insight and yet refused to recognize the messianic truth staring them in the face. Their stubborn rejection of Jesus caused them to remain in their sin.

What is the message for us?

God does not inflict suffering or illness as punishment, but it is the direct consequence of personal sins, others' sins, or the general existence of a broken, sinful world. It stems from misuse of free will, selfish actions, injustice, abuse and neglect. God allows suffering to come into our lives to humble us, strengthen our faith, build our character, produce spiritual maturity, endurance, and patience, deepen our dependence on Him, and ultimately bring glory to His name by manifesting His grace and power.

So, instead of blaming God or others for suffering or waiting for perfect conditions, we can take personal responsibility, exercise faith, and actively serve and care for the afflicted through prayer, comfort and practical support.
Jesus performs miracles primarily to reveal His divine power, demonstrate God's compassion, awaken faith, deepen our relationship with God, renew our spirits, and ultimately lead us to salvation, rather than merely solve our physical and material needs or create spectacles. Let us, therefore, view every miracle in our lives as a call to gratitude, repentance, a deeper reliance on divine power and realization of God's love, presence and redemptive purposes.
The healed man experienced a profound spiritual journey. He moved from knowing and understanding Jesus as a "man", to a "prophet", and finally to believing Jesus as Lord and God, whom He worshipped. Similarly, our understanding of Jesus should grow through trials, obedience, and an increasing, personal relationship with Him. Our faith in Christ should deepen over time. As we stand firm, Christ will offer deeper revelation, allowing us to see Him more clearly as Lord and God.
Despite pressure from his neighbours, authorities, and fearful abandonment by his parents in the interrogation, the healed man held firm to his testimony and personal experience of Christ's power and authority and boldly proclaimed and worshipped Jesus as God. The work of Christ in our lives often produces varied responses from others - ranging from acceptance and admiration to hostility or indifference. While some may be drawn to the love, peace and joy it produces, others may react with skepticism or persecution because it disrupts the status quo.

During those moments, let us follow the example of the healed man by boldly sharing how Jesus has transformed our lives, regardless of the cost. Let us share God's goodness and our personal stories of faith with others so that they too may come to experience His love, know His truth, and find salvation.
The Pharisees' spiritual blindness was rooted in pride and self-righteousness. They ignored the reality of the miracle. Their belief that they already possessed all truth, prevented them from recognizing Jesus, the Light of the World. They could have been healed if they had admitted their blindness. But by claiming to see, they remained in their sin. Let us not follow the Pharisees' path, but instead, allow Jesus Christ to touch our hearts and eyes, enabling us to see the truth, worship Him as Lord and God, and receive spiritual sight.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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