4th Sunday of Lent 2026
“There are none so blind as those who will not see.” Last week, our focus was on water, which gives us life, and the living water of the Holy Spirit given to us in Baptism. Today, our emphasis is on sight, which gives us light.
True sight entails insight. That is what God has, and that is what He gives to us, if we have the gumption to receive it. This is illustrated in our First Reading, in which Samuel is sent to anoint Israel’s future King. Samuel looks, but he does not see. Eliab appears to him to be the ideal candidate, but Samuel lacks the insight to recognise Eliab’s lack of suitability. Left to himself, Samuel might have chosen any of Jesse’s first six sons but God sees beneath the surface, and rejects all of them, instead choosing David, the youngest.
How many times are we fooled by appearances? I remember a Board of Governors, who had the task of choosing a new Head for a large Secondary School. They appointed a smooth talker, rejecting a candidate whose credentials should have carried far more weight. The result was a disaster, as the smooth talker, having been appointed, succeeded only in dragging the school down, whilst the rejected candidate continued to win more accolades for the smaller school at which he remained. Sight may be a superficial thing, if it is not supported by insight. The former is a great gift from God: the latter is even greater.
The Letter to the Ephesians makes a similar point, bringing in a clear moral dimension by contrasting light with darkness. Sight without insight may be moral darkness: its works are described as “unfruitful” and as needing to be exposed. Someone may have 20/20 vision, but if they cannot discern “what is pleasing to the Lord”, then they are in darkness. Someone who is physically blind may have light through having the insight to discern good from evil.
In our Gospel, we hear of the cure of a man who has been physically blind from birth. John goes into detail about the method of the cure, and about the conversations between the man and his neighbours, and between the man and the Pharisees. (In the full length version of the story, there is some real knockabout stuff, as the Pharisees question the man’s parents who reply that he is an adult, who can speak for himself, and as the man cheekily parries the Pharisees’ questions by asking them “Why are you asking? Do you want to become His disciples?” a question which flusters them more than a little.)
Once again, we find the distinction between sight and insight. The blind man has received his physical sight, but he still lacks insight, which he receives through his final conversation with Our Lord. “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Jesus asks. When He identifies Himself as the Son of Man, He gives the man the gift of insight, and the man worships Him.
What are the implications for us, in addition to the invitation to pray for those who struggle with their eyesight? Are we grateful for the gift of sight which we ourselves enjoy? Do we judge too readily on the basis of appearances, and are we thus led astray by sight without insight? We need to pray for the ability to see as God sees, but not to convince ourselves too readily that we have that ability. Above all, we need to pray that we may live, not in darkness, but in the light of Jesus, who is Himself the light, and may always recognise, worship, and serve Him as Our Lord and Our God.
