4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

1Sm b.6-7.10-16.1 13th:
David is anointed king of Israel
Psalm 22:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
Eph 5:8-14:
Arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light
Jn 9:1-41:
It was, washed, and came back with view

To know who was sent by God and acts according to his will is an old problem, it was not easy to be ure who wanted to be a leader only for personal profit. In the first reading we see the prophet Samuel, who moved by the Spirit of God was looking for a leader to guide the Hebrews and face the Philistines. He chose Saul, a young man from a good family and good looks. The Hebrews immediately supported him, but he soon became an unbearable tyrant. His constant changes of mood threatened the safety of the Hebrews, Samuel thought he could solve it by anointing a new king. This prophetic anointing legitimized the action of a new 'savior leader' of the people, it was common to think that the 'savior leader' should be elected by a recognized prophet. The anointing of the leaders of Israel was a symbol of hope for a better future, in line with God's plans.

In Jesus' time, the people of God from Palestine wondered the same thing: how to know if Jesus was anointed by the Lord? Jesus knew John the Baptist, preached like him, but they were not convinced by his humble origin, his different way in interpreting the law and because he had little connection with the temple and its rituals. For those cultural and social prejudices, many didn't accept him as an anointed prophet of the Lord. The Christian community proclaimed the legitimacy of the mission of Jesus saying that only those who know the work of the Nazarene, his love for life, his dedication to the poor, his preaching of the kingdom of God will recognized him as the "anointed" the "Messiah" (Hebrew) or "Christ" (Greek).

Diseases and physical limitations were a terrible social and religious stigma, therefore, the 'signs and wonders' of Jesus among the poor caused great impact and the envy of his opponents. Some saw in their healing the work of a magic healer. His disciples, however, understood it in all its liberating and salvific value, they were not only a remedy for human limitations, but brought back the dignity to the person.

When recovering his vision the poor blind man discovers that his problem was not a punishment from God for the sins of their ancestors, nor a test of fate. He switched from despair to faith in Jesus and discovered the prophet, the Lord's anointed. The real problem was not his visual impairment, but the terrible burden of contempt that culture imposed upon him. Jesus frees him from the weight of social marginalization and takes him into a community that accepted him for who he was.

This beautiful passage from the gospel, relates a drama between: the neighbors, the blind beggar, the pious Pharisees, the Jewish religious authorities, the parents of the blind man and the blind man as the center. John emphasizes the blindness of the religious authorities to admit the miracle of Jesus, the most lucid are the most blind. Are our authorities a bit like them, or maybe some of us too?

They don't believe that a simple man like Jesus could work such wonders, especially on Saturday, the sacred and mandatory rest day, and to make it worse, done to a penniless blind beggar from one of the gates of the city. The neighbors, the Pharisees, the leaders of the temple now beset the blind who sees. Jesus seeks and sympathizes with the former blind man thrown out of the synagogue. In this new encounter with Jesus the blind man "fully sees" not only the light, but the "glory" of God. He recognizes Jesus as the Son of God, the final envoy, the Lord worthy of worship.

Jesus brings a new, loving and just message and judges the world turning it upside down: those who saw now don't see, and those who didn't saw now see. And what is there to see? Jesus. He is the light that illuminates. This reading is a beautiful "confession of faith", full of joy and love. Jesus came with a new judgment based on mercy, acceptance and love. His life and testimony challenge us to show in our life the same attitude without self-righteous fanaticism, trusting that the glory of God is also elsewhere, in other religions, through many other mediators, with the same joy, the same love and the same conviction. Jesus gives back to the blind his human condition, accepts him in the new kingdom. He can do the same to us if only we seek for Him, if we let Him find us, if we see him alive in others.

Prayer:

You, oh Lord,
who open our eyes to discover
the beauty of creation
and the greatness of your love,
help us to work with you
so that everyone can be happy
in their life when they see your light.
We ask this through Jesus
your son and our brother. Amen

Second Sunday of Lent, Year A

First Reading: Genesis 12: 1-4a "God promises Abram a great blessing".
Around the year 1800 B.C. Groups of semi-nomadic shepherds who sought pasture for their flocks away from the city- states organized themselves in Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean coast. Abraham and Sarah were part of these migrant groups, "seeking life" in other lands. While in their pilgrimage and struggle to live, they hear the call of the Yahweh "the God who is" asking them to leave everything and trust in His promise of life. This God promises Abraham that he is going to be the father of a people as numerous as the sands and that he will possess the land, the "promised land". Their hearts wanted that and also needed that to live in a dignified and peaceful way.

Abraham and Sarah walked the path that led them to the encounter with Yahweh. Today, the "Abrahamic minorities", weak, marginalized, displaced and expelled from their lands and the economic system, are those millions of people displaced by wars and political problems that walk towards the God of Life. They continue to hear God's call to look for new forms of a "promised life", to live happily as universal sons and daughters of God. They are the new Abrahams and Sarahs, who leave everything to look for a better and dignified life that are denied to them in their homelands.

In the Biblical narration, the Jewish people are those who speak of themselves. They attributed to the "will of the God Most High" for being "His chosen people" with the divine rights to invade, kill, marginalize and drive other peoples out of their land. They attributed to Abraham the title of "biological" father "father in faith" of Israel, and of the three religions that came out of Israel´s faith: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Jews of today want to justify their actions on a story made out from their perspective and to their convenience.

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1: 8b-10 "Through God's grace we are called to holiness".
In his second letter to Timothy, St. Paul assures us that the Word of God is not chained; it is dynamic and makes its own way among the many ways of cultures. Although many have tried to manipulate it to their convenience and particular interests, the Spirit of the Risen Lord always finds a way to throw it to fly beyond the control of the manipulators; putting it at the fingertips of the displaced and marginalized seeking better living situations in dignity and justice, as Abraham and Sarah did. Those Abrahamic minorities or majorities displaced, reject this exclusionary and aimless system. With their lifestyle, customs, art and culture, they seek direction and guidance in the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 17:1-9 

"Jesus is transfigured on the mountain in the presence of Peter, James, and John".
The transfiguration narrated in the Gospels is a powerful symbol. Those who wrote Matthew, tell the story with lots of freedom, enriching an oral tradition retold and reworked in its transmission. Today, we can also interpret it in a purely symbolic way. This transfiguration of Jesus symbolically updated one of those many "transfiguration experiences" that we all experience nowadays.

Sometimes, daily life becomes gray, dull, drab and tired. It can discourage us and leave us without the strength to keep walking. And suddenly, unexpectedly, we encounter those "special moments" where a light goes on in our heart, and that lighted heart opens our eyes and allows us to see much further, deeper and beyond of what we were looking until now. Although the reality is the same, it appears transfigured, with another shape. Life shows its inner dimension, the one we used to believe in but with the tiredness and routine of our walking we had forgotten. Those mystical and real experiences help us to renew our energies; excite us again to continue traveling up the hard life without these visions, but “seeing and feeling him, The invisible”, walking by our side.

Like the disciples of Jesus needed then, today we all need those transfiguring experiences. Although we cannot meet Jesus personally on Mount Tabor in Galilee, we can meet Him in our own Tabor. This encounter in the Tabor of today happens in our silence, in listening to the Word, in reflection, meditation, contemplation and prayer. These are the sources where we get the strength, which will help us to be really happy. Those are the transfigured ways where we can renew our baptismal commitment. Of those, with no doubt, Prayer is the most important source.


Let us Pray
God Father, Mother, Eternal Wisdom, Infinite Vision, Total Intuition:
Give us profundity in our look, power in our heart,
light in the eyes of our soul.

Helps us to be able to transfigure reality and contemplate your glory now,
in our terrestrial pilgrimage:
We as this through Jesus, your son and our brother. Amen.