Homily of the 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)
By Fr Oluwafemi Victor Orilua CSSp
1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41
Today, we shall use the journey of the man born blind to reflect on how physical healing can lead us to spiritual recognition and how grace can build on nature. On this special day, called Laetare Sunday, which is symbolized by rose vestments, the church invites us to rejoice and celebrate hope and God’s mercy as Easter approaches,
First, let us establish some facts about life. There are many successful people who do not have a relationship with God. They simply rely on natural principles and tap into the powers of nature to achieve success. The principles that govern the world remain constant. We rise or fall by them depending on our level of understanding and how well we apply them.
Jesus used the power of nature to heal the man born blind. “Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). So, he went and washed and came back seeing.” Nature is replete with power which if well tapped can make life easy. This ranges from medicine; herbal or orthodox, and other natural endowments.
However, we need to be careful not to rest on the wings of nature and forget the God of nature. At times, we see things only at the ordinary level and fail to recognize the hand of God behind their existence. The blind man who was cured by Jesus did not recognize Him as the Lord until they met again later, after he had been interrogated by the Pharisees. When he was asked who healed him, He said, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” So, I went and washed and received my sight… So, for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, ‘Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
It was on another occasion that the blind man recognized Jesus as the Lord. “Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and he worshipped him.”
It is possible to be visited by God and yet not recognize Him. To enjoy the fullness of God’s presence, we must receive the events of our daily lives with gratitude, trusting that God relates with us through every circumstance. All things created belong to Him, so we must not give Him only a corner of our lives. He owns all.
St. Paul reminds the Ephesians: “Brothers and sisters, at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord…” (Ephesians 5:8–14). At times, we see everything only on the ordinary level, but we must learn to recognize the hand of God in all things. Let us pray that we may see as God sees.
More so, when the Lord instructed Samuel to anoint a king from the house of Jesse, Samuel wanted to anoint Eliab. But the Lord said, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance.”
May the Lord help us to recognise Him in every decisive moment of our lives. Amen.
