Commentary
Sunday, 3/26/2017, Fourth Sunday in Lent
Our Eyes Do Not See What God’s Eyes See
First Reading Commentary 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Having chosen the one who was to be king, the LORD sent Samuel to Jesse. Samuel was to take his horn with oil, hold a sacrifice and anoint one of Jesse’s sons. The first son to be presented was Eliab and Samuel thought that he was the chosen one. But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not judge from his appearance…because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see…the LORD looks into the heart.”
We all have a way of sizing people up and judging them when we first meet them. We know nothing about them but we immediately form opinions of them based solely on what we see. That is being prejudiced and we are all guilty of it. Don’t argue unless you are bold enough to tell God that He is wrong because that is exactly what the LORD told Samuel. People judge what they see but God judges what is in our hearts and He knows us better than we know ourselves.
But the focus of this event is the anointing of the king chosen by the LORD. Jesse presented seven of his sons but Samuel told Jesse that the LORD had not chosen any of them and asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Before we go any further, let’s step back a moment. Remember, the LORD instructed Samuel to anoint the king who had been chosen from among Jesse’s sons. You might think that the chosen one would have been the oldest son or the first son to be presented to Samuel. But the LORD had other ideas.
Maybe the LORD wanted to teach a lesson about prejudice. Maybe the LORD wanted to teach a lesson about assuming. You know what they say about that. Maybe the LORD wanted to make us stop to ponder what he said to Samuel, “Not as man sees does God see.” What we do know is that up to this point, Samuel had yet to see the chosen one.
Think about that. There is no doubt that part of the reason was because of the prejudice on the part of Jesse against one of his own sons. Obviously, Jesse did not think that his youngest son, David, could be chosen and did not even bother to have him presented to Samuel. The lessons here is that prejudice can cause us to make serious mistakes, however unintentional they may be and we sometimes make the mistake of prejudging those who are close to us.
Samuel told Jesse to send for the youngest son and that the sacrificial banquet would not begin until he arrived. Until now, David’s presence did not seem to matter to anyone except Samuel and that was only because he was on a mission to anoint one of Jesse’s sons (the one that the LORD had chosen) as king. There were no other sons so, David had to be the one.
We can learn a lesson from this of how damaging prejudice can be and how stupid assuming can be. You would think that David’s father would have been excited about the fact that the LORD had chosen one of his sons to be king. It really should not have made any difference to him which son it was but he obviously gave no credit to David even though he was the one tending the sheep—the shepherd. Sometimes we fail to give our Good Shepherd the respect and attention that he deserves too.
David was ruddy which means that he was of a reddish color. Perhaps this was because he spent so much time in the sun tending the sheep. In any case, we learn that he was both a person of color and a shepherd. This Scripture also tells us that he was a youth and made a splendid appearance.
Let’s focus on the fact that the youngest son was a shepherd and a youth. God never does anything by accident and it was no accident that this shepherd, was chosen by the LORD to be king and the ancestor to the King of Kings, the Good Shepherd. It is also no accident that David was a youth. Perhaps God is telling us in His selection of David that we should pay more attention to our youth. Jesus gave us the same message when He said “Let the Children come to me.” Matthew 19:14 & Mark 10:14
The LORD said, “There—anoint him, for this is the one!” And so, with the horn of oil in hand, David was anointed king and the Spirit of the LORD was with him from that day on.
The LORD’s selection of David teaches us that we are not chosen because of what we do for everyone to see as faith-filled acts. We are chosen for the faith within our hearts which is the reason, why we perform those acts. When the driving force behind our outward signs of faith comes from within our hearts, it is pleasing to God. In other words, when it becomes obvious that our actions, are driven by faith, not only does our faith become visible for others to see, it becomes visible for God to see and we find ourselves among His chosen people.
You Did It—Now Confess
Second Reading Commentary Ephesians 5:8-14
If we do not know God, we are in darkness. If we are in sin, we are in darkness. Paul says that we are light in the Lord and to live as children of light. In other words, in baptism, we are in the light of the Lord but when we sin, we return to darkness and that is the basis for the rest of Paul’s message today. It is because Christ is the Light of the world that Paul says, “For light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.” Therefore, when we are in the Light of Christ, we are these things.
In order to be in the Light, Paul tells us to do two things. First, try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. With that advice, Paul is telling us to become familiar with and try to live our lives according to the direction that God gives us in Scripture. Paul is telling us to feast ourselves on God’s Word. But we cannot accomplish this by simply reading the bible. We also have to go to church where the Word is proclaimed and where we can also be fed by the Eucharist.
Second, Paul tells us to stay away from sin and not to discuss committing a sin. He tells us that we should not even think about committing sin for to do so is shameful. Be honest. How often have you wanted to do something that you knew was wrong? I’m talking about the times that you did not commit the crime but you wanted to. Paul is telling us that in such situations, we may not have committed the crime but in our hearts, we did commit the sin. But if we do sin, Paul tells us that we should bring it to the light because everything that is visible becomes light. In other words, Paul is telling us to confess.
To make this point, Paul paraphrases Isaiah 26:19 and 60:1, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” Sin produces spiritual death but when we are absolved from our sins in Confession, we return to the Light of Christ which gives us a renewed spiritual life. We are once again put into communion with Christ and therefore able to enter His Kingdom.
Can You See?
Gospel Commentary John 9:1-41
During the time of Jesus, it was believed that if someone was born with an affliction such as blindness that the person or their parents had sinned against God. So, when Jesus and His disciples came across a man who had been blind from birth, the disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents?” Jesus answered, “Neither…it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.”
We all have problems and sometimes we get so caught up in our own situations that we loose sight of the fact that there are those who have bigger problems than our own. Have you ever noticed how some people who are born with or become afflicted with a major physical problem maintain a happy and positive attitude? Such people are an inspiration for us. We admire their courage, strength and ability to live with such a problem with a positive attitude.
Such people are truly blessed and it is no accident nor is it just by chance that we come, into contact with them. It is a blessing for us when we do. God wants us to come, into contact with these people so that we, can be inspired by them and better, appreciate the blessings which have been bestowed on us. God also wants us to witness how He works through their afflictions for His glory and the benefit of everyone.
Jesus said, “We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day…While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” We have, to look beyond the time of day to get the full meaning of what Jesus was saying. We also have, to look beyond the fact that Jesus is the Light of the world. Jesus was saying that He had to carry out His Father’s business and that the disciples were to continue that work after He was gone.
By way of our faith, the Light of Christ is within us. Therefore, through our faith, the Light of Christ remains in the world and when we act in faith from the heart, obeying the commandments and evangelizing; we continue to carry out His work.
Jesus spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva and smeared the clay on the blind man’s eyes. Then He told the blind man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sent. The man did this and came back able to see.
The man was told to go to the pool of Siloam because he was, being sent by Jesus to spread the news. First the news was given to his neighbors who asked the man how he was, able to see. After he explained what had happened, they wanted to know where Jesus was. But the man did not know so they took him to the Pharisees.
After hearing the news of what had happened, there was a division among the Pharisees. Some of the Pharisees would not believe that Jesus was from God because He had done this work on the Sabbath. But others asked, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” So, they asked the blind man, “What do you have to say about him?” The man said, “He is a prophet.”
We all know that the Pharisees refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah and that they persecuted Him and as Lent continues, we will hear much more about that. But I cannot overlook the controversy over the fact that Jesus did this work on the Sabbath.
True, God the Father, in His covenant with the Israelites, commanded them not to work on the Sabbath. But Jesus, who is the second person of the Trinity, made a covenant with the whole world promising the Kingdom of Heaven. With that covenant, the world was given a New Beginning which was made possible by the death on Good Friday and Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday morning. By performing this and other works on the Sabbath, Jesus was telling us through His actions to set aside His day as our day of worship. This, is why Christians worship on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, the Lord’s Day.
The Jews did not believe that the man had gained his sight so they summoned his parents who testified that he was born blind, that they did not know how he had gained his sight or who had opened his eyes and that they should ask their son who was of age and could answer for himself. They said this because they knew that if they had acknowledged Christ, they would have been expelled from the synagogue.
From this we see that the man was sent by Jesus to all of the Jewish community but the Jews chose not to believe. The parents knew very well what happened and they knew that such a work could only be done by the One who was promised—the One who would be called the Christ. But they were not willing to stand up for their faith and therefore, would not testify.
So, the Jews questioned the man a second time and said to him, “We know that this man is a sinner.” But the man said, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
“I was blind and now I see” is a testament of faith which is often made by Christians. It comes from this gospel and testifies to Jesus being the Light of the world. It testifies to the fact that without the Light of the Son, we cannot see the Father.
The Jews asked the man how Jesus had opened his eyes. With this question, the man’s patience had run its course. He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen. Do you want to become his disciples, too?” In other words, I have had enough but I am going to take the high road and evangelize you anyway.
They ridiculed him as they said that he was a disciple of Jesus who they did not know but that they were disciples of Moses and they knew that God had spoken to him. Once again, we see that people are not willing to believe what cannot be proven to them in a tangible way. Sure, the Jews saw the results of what Jesus had done but they did not see the act and therefore would not believe.
This should remind us of the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:10-11. In short, Blessed, are those who are persecuted for their faith. It should also remind us of Thomas the Apostle who did not believe that Jesus had appeared to the other Apostles until he saw the wounds of Jesus for himself.
The man told the Jews that it was amazing that they did not know where He (Jesus) was from. He said that God does not listen to sinners but to those who are devout and do His will. The man added that if Jesus were not from God, He would not have been able to do anything.
So, the man had been sent to his neighbors, the Pharisees and the Jews and what is striking is that when the Jews refused to believe, he testified to the Pharisees and his faith became stronger even though they threw him out.
Upon hearing this, Jesus found the man and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man said, “Who is he sir, that I may believe in him?” In other words, the man said, “Yes, but who is He?” So, Jesus identified Himself as He and the man said, “I do believe, Lord” and he worshipped Him.
Jesus already knew the faith that was in this man’s heart and it is for that reason that Jesus revealed Himself to the man. Jesus always reveals Himself to those of us who are willing to listen to Him because we believe in Him.
Sometimes, when we pray and we do not get the answer that we are looking for from God, it is not because He does not hear us. It is because He is not listening to us and that is because deep within our hearts, there is doubt and we do not believe. That is what Jesus meant when He 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.”
No one can put things in such a way to make you stop and think better than Jesus and that is what He did with some of the Pharisees who heard what Jesus said to the man. They said to Jesus, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.”
In other words, Jesus was telling the Pharisees that they knew the Scriptures, heard His Word, saw His works and they even saw and talked with Him. Yet they refused to believe that He was the Messiah who was promised in the Scriptures. They had no faith because of their own pride which closed their minds and hardened their hearts. Pride is a deadly sin and they were full of it.
I have often heard spiritual leaders say that when we read any of the gospels, we should try to place ourselves within that gospel. We should try to identify with one of the characters or group of characters within that gospel. Ask yourself, who are you in this gospel? Are you one of the Pharisees or Jews who would not believe? Or are you the blind man who had his eyes opened because of his faith?
