That I May See: a Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, 2026

by Sister Jayne Erickson

There was Jesus.  And…there was a blind beggar.  And…there were neighbors and Pharisees and other Jews including the blind man’s parents.  And…there were disciples…then and now.

As Jesus passed by, he saw.  The text says he saw the man blind from birth.  The story clearly tells us he saw so much more.  He saw them all and their lack of vision.  He saw they were in darkness, unable to see though daylight was upon them.  Some were blinded by what they could not understand.  Some didn’t want see anything beyond keeping their rigid laws. Could they possibly accept a new way of doing things introduced by a stranger unlike themselves?  Some were blinded by fear of being cast out of the synagogue by the powerful and worrying about what people would say about them. And what about the disciples?  Are they (are we) blind to the needs, the feelings, and humanity of the marginalized and more concerned about analyzing the situation and placing blame?

After Jesus sees the man born blind, he doesn’t wait for the man to approach him, but he goes to the man and begins a process of healing.  This is not an instant healing…not an abracadabra type!  Yes, Jesus heals his eyes, but  he gives the man a part to play.  “Go wash in the Pool.”  He does as he is asked to do and the miracle of sight has just begun!  What follows is even more spectacular!  The once blind beggar begins to really see who he is and who Jesus is…the light of the world!  One builds upon the other and opens the door for transformation!  A true disciple is born.

I wonder…when Jesus finds me in my darkness and I’m blinded by pride or fear or lack of compassion, am I willing to open the door for healing to begin?  “Jesus, continue your process of healing and transformation in me that I may see as you see.”

The second reading for this Sunday says, “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord!”  Let me tell you a  story about a little girl who had a part in a Sunday School program.  Her only line was, “I am the light of the world.”  She practiced and practiced her line until she had it just right and she was so excited when the day finally came for her debut.  But…when the curtain opened and she saw all the people, she froze.  She quickly found her mother in the front row as her eyes filled up with tears.  Her mother began to mouth the words but the little girl just stood quiet and still.  Then the mother whispered her line, but she didn’t catch on. Finally, the mother said in a very loud whisper, “I am the light of the world.”  The little girl stood up tall, smiled from ear to ear and said in a clear, strong voice, “Oh yes, my mother is the light of the world.”

Cute story to tell, but it does makes me ponder, how we might change the world one person at a time if when we looked at each other with the eyes of God (or of the little girl) we would smile and say or simply embrace the thought, “Oh yes, my sister (or my brother) is the light of the world.”

My God,
Never take from me
The ability to love another.
Give me your capacity
For loving
Without strings attached,
Pouring out freely
To discover
The pump doesn’t run dry,
Rather it is primed
And ready to spill over
Loving ever more,
Bubbling over with pure delight!

Such a great gift
To see with your eyes,
To know the joy of giving…
And giving and giving.
And…that is enough…

Open my eyes to see
This offering of love
Is receiving at its best.
It requires nothing
But to open the door
And to welcome the guest.
Oh God,
Open my eyes that I may see
How Love comes calling.

Reading I: 1 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 rushed upon David.

 

 

Reading II: Ephesians 5:8-14

Brothers and sisters:
You were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of 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 arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

 

 

Gospel: 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 this 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,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped 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 you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.