BIBLE STUDY #81
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
March 18, 2012

READING 1
2 CHRONICLES 36:14-16, 19-23

In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people
added infidelity to infidelity,
practicing all the abominations of the nations
and polluting the LORD's temple
which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers,
send his messengers to them,
for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God,
despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets,
until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed
that there was no remedy.
Their enemies burnt the house of God,
tore down the walls of Jerusalem,
set all its palaces afire,
and destroyed all its precious objects.
Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon,
where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons
until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.
All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah:
"Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths,
during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest
while seventy years are fulfilled."

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia,
in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah,
the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia
to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom,
both by word of mouth and in writing:
"Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house
in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!"

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
EPHESIANS 2:4-10

Brothers and sisters:
God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ -by grace you have been saved-,
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come
He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.

The Word of the Lord

GOSPEL
JOHN 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

In the Book of Numbers, chapter 21, the Israelites were on their way to the Promised Land, but the people were tired of the journey and began to complain against God to Moses. So God sent serpents that bit them, and many of them died. The people repented and God told Moses to make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent was to look on this seraph and be cured. In the same way, Jesus was to be lifted up on the cross to ‘heal’ us of our sins. If we believe, then we won’t die, but inherit eternal life.

God loves us, and does not sit on the sidelines watching what happens to us, but he wants to be a part of our lives to guide, direct, inspire, and nurture us along our journey. Like any good parent, God wants the best for us. And, like any good parent, God would do anything for us, including sending his Son to teach us what God wants (to reveal God to us) and to show us how we are to live and relate to one another, and to suffer, die, and rise for us. God gives us his Son in the incarnation, but also in the sense of the crucifixion: he is given for our sins.
Since God knows best, whatever we learn from Jesus should be the best way to live. It should give us the ultimate in peace, happiness, and meaning, and eternal life.

Faith, then, is founded in the person of Jesus. He is the bridge between us and the Father. Jesus is the perfect revealer of the Father, and we share in the divine life of the Father through Jesus, who teaches us about ourselves (earthly things), but also the mystery of his own person. Faith is our response to Jesus as God’s revelation, who shares with us his intimate love of the Father. Jesus is the one “lifted up” on the cross (like Moses lifted up the seraph on the pole) where he is the source of eternal life: as those who looked on the seraph were healed, so those who have faith in Jesus receive the ultimate cure: eternal life.

God’s love for the world is directed towards salvation, not condemnation. The giving of his Son in the incarnation and the crucifixion (and subsequent resurrection) show the depth of God’s love for us, and how much he wants us not only to be saved, but to live a full and graced filled life in the present. God is full of mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. God is about life, not death. God wants to heal the sick and the broken hearted, not punish them.

We can be condemned by turning away from ‘the light’, in other words, by refusing to believe in Jesus and preferring darkness. We have to be careful not to be too judgmental or condemnatory because the gospel promises us that God will judge us the way in which we judge others. But it seems to me that condemnation comes in two stages: turning away from faith in Jesus and turning towards darkness (knowingly doing sinful and evil things when we know better).

I love the following story and I’ve told it many times: a woman who worked in a high rise office building was nearing retirement age and was a bit afraid of driving in bad weather. One winter day, she looks out the window and sees the snow falling outside. She decides to leave before the weather worsens. By the time she drives out of the underground parking garage, it is snowing so hard she can’t see 2 feet in any direction. She sees a light, and decides to follow it. “If I follow the light, I’ll get home safely,” she thinks. Whatever the light does, she does. When it goes right, she goes right; when left, she goes left. Finally, the man in the vehicle in front of her stops, gets out, and knocks on her window. He says to her, “Ma’am, I notice that you have been following me.” “Oh, yes,” she says, “If I follow the light, I’ll get home safely.” He chuckles and says, “Well, Ma’am, you can follow me all you want. But for the last 20 minutes, I’ve been plowing a parking lot.”

Jesus is our light, our connection to the Father and eternal life. He is the one we follow. But, we all follow imperfectly: sometimes we go left when we should go right, and sometimes we go right when we go left. What counts is that we follow the light. God sent his son so we might not perish: Jesus sacrifice’ assumes the penalty for our wrong turns. Today’s Gospel is one of great hope. We can always turn back from sin and evil (darkness) and our loving God will be there to forgive us and He will steer us in the right direction.

Another story:

Garry Wills recounts this story in his book What Jesus Meant, a reflection on the Gospel:

"My young son woke up with a violent nightmare one night. When I asked what was troubling him, he said that the nun in his school had told the children they would end up in hell if they sinned. He asked me, 'Am I going to hell?' There is not an ounce of heroism in my nature, but I instantly answered what any father would: 'All I can say is that if you're going there, I'm going with you.'

"If I felt that way about my son, God obviously loves him even more than I do. Perhaps the Incarnation is God's way of saying that no matter what horrors we face or hells we descend to, he is coming with us." (From CONNECTIONS, March 2012).

The first reading, from the Second Book of Chronicles, picks up where the First Book of Chronicles leaves off. This unnamed author continues with the Reign of Solomon and then deals with the Monarchy of Judah after Solomon’s death. Today’s selection is from the final chapter of this book.

This author perceived history through the lens of revelation: history was seen as revealing God’s purposes for his people. In other words, we can see God in history through studying history.

All of the prosperity, successes, and victories are seen as rewards for fidelity to the law and God’s covenant. All calamities and problems are a result of infidelity. This is the reason they were conquered by the Babylonians and brought into exile. They were being punished for their sins.

The author of this book also saw God’s hand in raising up Cyrus, the King of Persia, who released the people and let them go from exile back to their land. The punishment for their sins being complete, God forgives and releases them from exile.


Gospel for Scrutinies (10 am Mass)

John 9:1-41

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?"
Jesus answered,
"Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
"Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
"Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?"
Some said, "It is, "
but others said, "No, he just looks like him."
He said, "I am."
So they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"
He replied,
"The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.'
So I went there and washed and was able to see."
And they said to him, "Where is he?"
He said, "I don't know."

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
"He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see."
So some of the Pharisees said,
"This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath."
But others said,
"How can a sinful man do such signs?"
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
"What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?"
He said, "He is a prophet."

Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
"Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?"
His parents answered and said,
"We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself."
His parents said this because they were afraid
of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
"He is of age; question him."

So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, "Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner."
He replied,
"If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see."
So they said to him,
"What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?"
He answered them,
"I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
They ridiculed him and said,
"You are that man's disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from."
The man answered and said to them,
"This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything."
They answered and said to him,
"You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?"
Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
He answered and said,
"Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"
Jesus said to him,
"You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he."
He said,
"I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
"I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind."

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, "Surely we are not also blind, are we?"
Jesus said to them,
"If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The healing of the blind man is the fifth sign in John’s Gospel. Signs are something that reveal Jesus identity if understood in faith, and they are also a call to faith in him.

Jesus pass by a man blind from birth. His disciples want to know who sinned to cause this calamity. It was thought that the parents’ sins were visited upon their children. It was also thought that sin caused illnesses, so a case can be made that this man is a sinner and is being punished by God. Jesus dispels both notions. This mans’ blindness will show forth the glory and power of God.

To heal this man, Jesus spits on the ground, makes clay with his saliva and smeared it on his eyes. God’s grace and healing power are mediated through things of the earth. Sounds like our sacraments, doesn’t it? Bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, the water of baptism, and the oil of anointing, for example.

Jesus tells him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. This could possibly be a test of faith: does the man believe in Jesus? There is a similar story in 2 Kings 5:10-14 when Elisha tells Naaman the Syrian to go wash in the Jordan 7 times. Siloam is a word that means ‘sent’ and is a symbol of Jesus, who is sent buy the Father.

The belief in Jesus grows in the healed man throughout this passage. When first questioned about this healing by his neighbors, he refers to Jesus as “The man called Jesus.” Later, when questioned by the Pharisees, he refers to Jesus as a “Prophet.” Even later, when confronted by the ‘Jews ‘, that is the religious leadership, he refers to Jesus as “a man from God.” And finally, when confronted by Jesus, he calls him ‘Lord’. Also notice that as time goes by, he gets bolder with his proclamation of faith in Jesus, so much so that he was thrown out of the temple for his ‘insubordination’.

Jesus not only heals this man of his blindness, but also of his unbelief. Since it was thought that sin caused illnesses and physical problems such as blindness, if Jesus heals the blindness, he also forgives the sin, the latter being the more important healing of the two. The more we are healed of our sins, the more our faith should grow, and we can begin living our faith boldly in words and deeds.

Like the man born blind, we are helpless to overcome our own blindness, that is, our sins. There is nothing we can do to atone for our sins. It is only through the saving and healing actions of Jesus that we can overcome our sins and be healed and made whole.

Here is another story:

What would you do if your son or daughter's life was being made miserable by a bully at school?

In the newsletter At Home with Our Faith (January 2011), Catherine O'Connell-Cahill writes how one wise mom handled the situation.

The woman's son Josh was being bullied by another boy at school. Josh was a regular target of the boy's abuse. Josh's mom also knew the bully and, like many troubled kids, knew the agony he was living at home.

Josh would come home from school angry at yet another humiliation at the hands of the bully. Like most parents, Josh's Mom and Dad wanted to go and annihilate the kid and his parents. But they didn't. Instead of advising Josh to punch the kid in the nose or signing him up for a martial arts course or threatening the bully's parents with legal action, Mom asked Josh this: "Josh, is there one thing you like about this kid?"

Josh thought for a while and finally said, "He's really good at football."

Knowing Josh and his friends played football at recess, she asked whether the bully was ever chosen.

"No way. No one ever wants to pick him because he's the class bully and they don't like him."

"And do you ever get to be the captain and pick kids for your team?" Mom asked.

"I get the chance every so often," Josh replied.

"So next time you're the captain, why don't you pick this kid and see what happens?"

Josh agreed. At the next opportunity, Josh managed to put aside his resentments and fear and picked the bully for his side.

This started a whole chain of events: Other kids also began picking the bully, the boy started to make friends instead of victims, and soon the bullying itself faded away.

All because a wise, compassionate Mom asked her son a question we seldom ask of those who harm us: Is there one thing you like about this kid? (from CONNECTIONS March 2011).

Josh’s Mom was the inspiration for her son to be an agent of healing. Both boys were healed because Josh was willing to reach out to someone in need. Jesus healed the man born blind not only for his own healing, but so he could help heal those he met. Jesus heals us of our sins not only for our own sake, but so we can, like the movie says, ‘Pay It Forward’. Do you know anyone in your life that needs healing?

Fr. Phil