Fourth Sunday of Lent
Sunday, March 15, 2026
St. James Cathedral

Watch this homily! (Begins at 43:35)
 
Images of light and darkness are particularly strong in our scriptures today. St. John describes Christ as the light of the world, dispelling the darkness of sin. We long for that light as much as we long for the light of the sun in the middle of winter. And we long for that light in the midst of our own darkness, our own brokenness, our own sin. And, perhaps most acutely right now, we long for that light in the midst of the darkness of war and violence and injustice. 
 
In our journey through Lent, as the days lengthen, and this coming season of Spring transforms our days from less light to more light, we pray that we may put aside whatever is tempting us to live in the darkness and to come more and more into the light of Christ’s love. If we do that, then we can arrive at Easter ready to be born and reborn in the waters of new life.
 
The story of the man born blind from St. John’s Gospel, and the story of the anointing of David from the First Book of Samuel remind us that is often our own limited perspective that can get in the way of living in the light.
 
God chooses David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, the unexpected one, to shepherd his people Israel. And it is a man blind from birth who comes to see Jesus as he really is, while the religious leaders descend more and more into spiritual blindness.
 
And such spiritual blindness goes hand-in-hand with a very narrow and limited perspective. Our journey through Lent invites us to look honestly at our lives and ask the Lord to give us eyes to see as he sees.
 
For Jesus, the man born blind is not a sign of sin, as was the conventional thinking of the time, but one who could make visible the works of God. The one sent from God to open the eyes of all who walk in darkness, heals this blind man so that he may show forth God’s glory.
 
For some this healing is the occasion for a new perspective, for seeing with new eyes – for seeing Jesus as he really is. But for others, this healing is a threat to their narrow perspective, to the way they see things.
 
This man who was marginalized, thought to be a manifestation of darkness and sin, living on the fringes of society, does nothing to merit Jesus’ attention. But Jesus reaches out to him, just as God has done down through the ages for those who are outcast and living on the margins. In that gracious act of love, God’s care is made manifest for those who have eyes to see.
 
But when we hold onto a rigid perception of what God’s activity in the world should look like, and refuse to allow our perspective to be reshaped even when there is an invitation to an intense encounter with God’s healing love, we can become more and more blind to the work of God. And such blindness, such a narrow and limited perspective, can cause serious harm in our lives and in the life of our world.
 
Spiritual blindness and a limited perspective can lead us to blame the poor for their plight; demonize immigrants and refugees for seeking a better life; and lead us to respond to a perceived threat by justifying “preventative” violence.
 
Such narrow and limited perspectives on the national and international level spring from individual hearts. When we hold onto a family grudge for years, when we choose giving the silent treatment rather than dialogue in a disagreement at work or at school, when anger in a relationship is allowed to fester for a long time, we can descend into darkness and the spiritual blindness that prevents us from seeing how God is present and working in our lives.
 
My friends, you and I are the children of light that Saint Paul describes in his Letter to the Church at Ephesus. By virtue of our Baptism, we have been enlightened by Christ, and sent to live always as children of the light. But we know that the darkness of sin can sometimes blind us, and so limit our perspective that we fail to see God working in the world among the broken and hurting – in here, and out there.
 
The Pharisees are the ones in today’s gospel who refuse to be enlightened by Christ – to allow his light to change their perspective. These religious leaders serve as a caution for us. Their blindness reminds us of the temptation of religious folks to think we have no need to change our perspective – and so our perspective becomes more and more narrow and limited.
 
That’s why you and I need a lifetime of Lents, so we can confront what we might be blind to right now, and to remind us of the call to always seek the light of Christ. Our Elect serve as concrete reminders of this need for ongoing conversion.
Brothers and sisters, these days of Lent give us an opportunity to confront the limited perspective that may blind us to God’s activity in our lives and in the life of our world. The growing light of these lengthening days can serve as a reminder to us that we are children of light, called to live in the light of God’s love and healing mercy.
 
May the Eucharist we share scatter the darkness of our lives and the life of our world, and nourish us with what we need to be sent from here to share Christ’s presence, Christ’s light, with all we meet.

Father Gary F. Lazzeroni