A reading from the first book of Samuel (16:1, 6-7, 10-13)
The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long are you going to mourn over Saul, as I myself have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have found myself a king from among his sons.’ When they arrived, he looked at Eliab and thought, ‘Surely this is the Lord’s anointed before him now,’ but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him; God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ So Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ Then he asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ Jesse replied, ‘There is still one more, the youngest; he is looking after the sheep.’ So Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him, for we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.’ Jesse had him sent for; he had ruddy cheeks, with fine eyes and an attractive appearance. The Lord said, ‘Get up and anoint him: he is the one!’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, surrounded by his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David from that day onwards.
Saul, the first to be anointed king by Samuel, has proved unable to bear the burden of kingship (1 Samuel 15). The choice of David to be king, in succession to Saul, is significant not only because of the importance of David in the history of Israel. When Samuel enters the house of Jesse in Bethlehem the other sons of Jesus appeared more suitable, but God does not choose them. The story told here also teaches that God chooses not the most obvious candidate from external appearance or stature. God ‘looks at the heart’. David’s heart was ready to receive the spirit of the Lord. Anointing with oil is a sign of strength and consecration. David becomes an ‘anointed one’ (mashiah), like Saul before him.
Psalm 23 (22) The Lord, as shepherd, provides for the needs of the people, preparing a banquet and anointing their heads with oil.
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians (5:8-14)
Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; live as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in complete goodness and righteousness and truth. Approve what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness but rather show them up. For what is done in secret by such people is shameful even to mention; but anything shown up by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated is itself a light. That is why it is said:
Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.
These words of the letter to the Ephesians on light and darkness prepare for the sign of the man born blind, receiving light from Christ. Christian baptism is also known as an enlightenment, and Christians are anointed, as David was, for a special mission. The words are directed to Christians who once lived in darkness but who through conversion and baptism have abandoned their pagan past and been joined to Christ. They are encouraged to remain faithful. We hear about the ‘fruit of light’: goodness, righteousness and truth, while darkness brings only ‘fruitless works’. The passage ends with what is considered part of an ancient Christian hymn referring to the new life of baptism.
A reading from the holy gospel according to John (9:1-41)
As he went along, Jesus saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus replied, ‘Neither he nor his parents sinned. He was born blind so that the works of God might be revealed in him.
‘As long as day lasts
we must carry out the work of the one who sent me.
Night is coming when no one can work.
As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.’
Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the saliva, spread it on the man’s eyes, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (which means ‘Sent’). So he went off and washed and came back able to see.
His neighbours and people who had earlier seen that he was a beggar said, ‘Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘It is.’ Others said, ‘No, but he is like the man.’ The man himself said, ‘Yes, I am the one.’ So they said to him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made a paste, spread it on my eyes and said to me, “Go off and wash at Siloam.” So I went and washed and could see.’ They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He answered, ‘I do not know.’
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. It had been a Sabbath when Jesus made the paste and opened the man’s eyes, so the Pharisees asked him again how he had come to see. He said to them, ‘He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.’ Then some of the Pharisees said, ‘That man is not from God: he does not keep the Sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How can a sinner produce such signs?’ And there was division among them. So they said to the blind man again, ‘What have you to say about him – as it was your eyes he opened?’ The man answered, ‘He is a prophet.’
However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had come to see till they had sent for the parents of the man who had come to see and asked them, ‘Is this man your son whom you say was born blind? If so, how can he now see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know that he is our son and that he was born blind, but how he can see, we do not know, nor who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is of age: he will speak for himself.’ His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah should be banned from the synagogue. This was why his parents said, ‘He is of age: ask him.’
So the Jews sent a second time for 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 don’t know; one thing I do know is that though I was blind I can now see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He replied, ‘I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples yourselves?’ At this they hurled abuse at him, ‘You are his disciple, we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man replied, ‘The amazing thing is this: that you do not know where he comes from and he has opened my eyes! We know that God does not listen to sinners, but God does listen to someone who reveres God and does his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of that anyone should open the eyes of someone born blind; if this man were not from God, he would not have been able to do anything.’ They answered and said to him, ‘You were born wholly in sin, and are you teaching us?’ And they drove him out.
Jesus heard they had driven him out, and when he had found him he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of man?’ He replied, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and he is the one speaking to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and worshipped him.
And Jesus said:
‘For judgement I came into this world,
so that those who cannot see might see,
and those who can see might become blind.’
Hearing this, some of the Pharisees who were with him said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus replied:
‘If you were blind
you would not be to blame,
but since you say,
“We can see,” your guilt remains.’
This is the second of the three great readings from the Fourth Gospel which prepare for the reception of baptism at Easter. Last week we heard proclaimed the story of the woman at the well, and next Sunday we will hear of the raising of Lazarus. At the very beginning of this story, before he heals the man born blind, Jesus proclaims: ‘As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.’ The physical healing of the man triggers a spiritual journey into light, which is in contrast to the darkness of those who cannot see the truth. This lively and honest character, who has no name, refers to Jesus as ‘the man called Jesus’, then ‘a prophet’, recognising him as ‘from God’ and finally worshipping him as ‘Lord’. While he is willing to receive the light the religious authorities are not convinced, for Jesus has worked the healing on the Sabbath. They interrogate his parents to no avail. Their pestering of the man leads to his indignant question: ‘Do you want to become his disciples yourselves?’ Despite their abuse he is undaunted and his defence of the man ‘from God’ becomes more strident. They banish him from the synagogue, and remain fixed in their conviction that they themselves know all there is to know, and have seen all there is to see. The tender final encounter with Jesus leads the man to worship him with the words ‘Lord, I believe.’
How effective is light as a metaphor for faith?
Pray for those who begin to sense the light in the darkness of life.