The Season of Lent
Lent is intended to be a joyful walk toward Easter, a progression of the Church toward the summit of the liturgical year. The focus is on uncovering and rejecting everything that tarnishes or warps Christ’s image within us, all that keeps us from being closer to Christ. In this time, we are all focused inward but it is very much a communal journey.
The purpose of Lent is to prepare the people of God for the Paschal feast. So of every reading we might legitimately ask: how does this prepare me for the Paschal feast?
Lent is a time for the fiery love of the Holy Spirit to burn away what we do not need, releasing new energy for growth. It’s not about becoming a better person but rather becoming more and more consumed by the love of Christ.
Lent is a time we naturally begin to think of the things we have done wrong and the ways we have separated ourself from God. This is important and we must root these things out of our lives. But we must also balance this with God’s love. There is nothing we can do to make God love us any more just as there is nothing we can do to make God love us any less. We must be secure in that love, have faith in it. Lent motivates us to draw ever closer to a God who loves us.
Lent, The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation
Today’s Readings
Today’s readings are about darkness and light, blindness and seeing. Samuel, as great a prophet as he was, is blind to the fact that God might choose a lowly shepherd boy as King. The Pharisees in the gospel are blind to the truth of Jesus’ identity. The Ephesians reading commands us to “awake” and be enlightened; to move out of the dark into the light.
This is also Laetare Sunday, rejoice! “Laetare” comes from the entrance antiphon from Isaiah 66:10: “Rejoice O Jerusalem.” Rejoicing might feel a little weird here in the middle of Lent. But I love this reminder that the season of Lent is preparing us for the joy of Easter, the joy of a risen Christ. It’s an invitation to pause and take stock of things – to remember that our journey is a joyful walk to Easter and that ultimately Easter is about the JOY of the resurrection!
This Sunday is also the second RCIA Scrutiny Rite.
1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
The books of Joshua, Judges, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings form one continuous work of history. These books take us from entering the Promised Land through the Babylonian exile. They are not so much history as a theological reflection on the past by a people trying to understand how they got where they are – from the land of milk and honey to exile.
One theme that runs throughout all these books is that of the search for an adequate successor and today’s reading highlights one of those searches.
The book of 1 Samuel primarily features the disastrous kingship of Saul. The secret anointing of David as successor takes place fairly early on in his reign.
Today’s reading looks like a hodge-podge collection of verses, as often happens with Old Testament readings in the lectionary. Try first reading through verses 1-13 in your Bible to get a sense of the whole story. Then read the lectionary presentation. You’ll see (and hopefully hear on Sunday) that the lectionary presents a complete story that is easier to follow when listened to.
In verse 1 we hear God sending the great prophet Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem. Jesse’s father was Obed, son of Ruth and Boaz. Ruth was a Gentile and a Moabite. The Moabites, along with the Ammonites, were descended from Lot’s incest with his daughters after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as told in Genesis 19. From this unlikely heritage will come the great king David, the focus of today’s story, as well as the lineage to Jesus.
Verse 10 says that Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel. The number seven in the Bible is a measure of perfection and completeness. Jesse brings each of the seven men before Samuel and everyone surely expects that one of them will be the chosen one. But Samuel says no – God has not chosen from any of these seven. In verse 11 he asks Jesse if there are any more sons and Jesse says yes. The existence of an eighth son is a surprise, disrupting the expectations set up by the number seven. That God chooses the eighth son is an even greater disruption. But isn’t that how God often works? We have our systems and expectations and we think we’ve got it all figured out. And then God does something in a way we never even imagined. Is there room for surprise in your life, for God working in new and unexpected ways?
Think of something in your life experience that was small and lowly, something of humble origin, that God used to do much bigger things. From my own experience, I recall some years ago wanting to join a Bible study group. I wanted so badly to find a group to be a part of as well as to be fed by studying the Word. Because I was unable to find exactly what I needed, I started my own and it has grown into this very ministry today. Something as humble as a desire for community and nourishment has grown into something much larger than I could ever have imagined.
Ephesians 5:8-14
The earliest manuscript of this letter does not contain “in Ephesus” in 1:1 but all manuscripts after that put it in. This letter was probably something of a “form letter,” tailored to name each community receiving it. Ephesus was a very important center of the early Christian spread so their letter was probably copied more frequently than others and that’s how this version spread.
The book of Ephesians post-dates Paul, probably written by a later disciple but accepted by the church as being in Paul’s spirit and teaching. The letter provides guidance on the meaning of an earlier message for a new day, a new community, and new questions. For the early church communities, the main issue became the relationship of Jews and Gentiles. A key teaching of the letter to the Ephesians encourages the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles into a unity marked by appropriate conduct.
The purpose of the letter was to be a handbook of instruction on the meaning of baptism. It would have been studied by those preparing for baptism and entry into the Christian community. One of the earliest Christian terms for baptism was photismos – the act of enlightening or illumination.
Verse 10 encourages us to “try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” The Greek word implies discernment and examining to understand and testing something. The idea is that we should always be reflecting on our experience to see what pleases God.
Verse 11 tells us to expose the works of darkness. Do we do that by going around shouting shameful things people are doing? Verse 12 would suggest not. Verse 13 provides the answer: by living in the light, we ourselves become light. Our light and the example of our lives shine on those around us, revealing those things not of the light. The focus is not on examining other people to see what they are doing wrong so you can call them out on it. Rather, the focus is on making your own life the best and brightest light that it can be.
Verse 14 contains a fragment of what was likely an early baptismal hymn, sung at the reception of new converts by baptism. We might imagine the ancient Christians singing this joyfully as a person came up out of the baptismal waters. “Sleeper” evokes death; “arise,” literally rise up, evokes resurrection. The hymn gives us three metaphors of the spiritual journey: the movement from sleep to waking; the movement from death to life; and the movement from darkness to light.
How do you embrace the call to walk as a child of the light?
John 9:1-41
Like last week’s story of the woman at the well, today’s story of the man born blind was used almost from the start by the church in preparing those seeking baptism.
The man begins like we all do: in darkness and ignorance. Jesus’ healing touch helps move him into enlightenment but it is a gradual understanding. It poses to us the question: will we be like the man who continues to probe and challenge and open himself to Jesus until he understands? Or will we close ourselves off like the Pharisees who are content to remain in their darkness?
The evidence seems plain: that a man was born blind and Jesus healed him and now he can see. The Pharisees practice willful ignorance it seems. They blatantly ignore the fact that a miracle has taken place and instead choose to focus on the fact that Jesus did it on the Sabbath day which violated the Law. We are quick to judge the Pharisee’s blindness – it all feels so obvious to us from a distance. And yet…! How often do we refuse to examine our assumptions about people and situations, preferring to remain in a comfortable trench of judgment? How many miracles do we miss? Are we willing to be illuminated by Christ?
Long readings like this often challenge our ability to concentrate in a sound-byte world. It can be helpful to break it down into chunks:
A man born blind is healed verses 1-7
Questions from the community about what happened verses 8-12
The Pharisees challenge who Jesus is verses 13-17
The Pharisees attempt to draw in the man’s parents verses 18-23
The Pharisees interrogate the man and expel him from the synagogue verses 24-34
Jesus reveals himself to the man and the man believes verses 35-38
The Pharisees persist in their blindness verses 39-41
Verse 16 reminds us of the Samuel reading: God works in surprising ways. The Law said that no work could be done on the Sabbath. The Pharisees reasoned that Jesus could not be from God because he broke the Law. There was no room in their minds for the surprising ways that God often works.
What are some surprising ways that God has worked in your life?
Jesus seeks the man out after the healing. If you could have a conversation with Jesus, what would you talk about? What questions would you ask him? What do you imagine he might say to you?
The man says confidently “one thing I do know is I was blind and now I see.” What is one thing you confidently know and how does it impact your life?
Questions to ponder
Is there room for surprise in your life, for God working in new and unexpected ways?
What are some surprising ways that God has worked in your life?
How do you embrace the call to walk as a child of the light?
How often do we refuse to examine our assumptions about people and situations, preferring to remain in a comfortable trench of judgment? How many miracles do we miss? Are we willing to be illuminated by Christ?
If you could have a conversation with Jesus, what would you talk about? What questions would you ask him? What do you imagine he might say to you?
What is one thing you confidently know and how does it impact your life?
How do these readings prepare you for the coming joyous Paschal feast?
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
© 2023 Kelly Sollinger