1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13; Psalm 22; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
Before our first reading King Saul had disobeyed God’s instructions by allowing animals from his defeated enemy to be sacrificed to the Lord. He put more faith in ceremony and ritual than he did in the Lord. Samuel told Saul obedience is more important than holocausts, and that the Lord has rejected Saul as king of Israel. The Lord sends Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as king.
Paul’s great letter about the Church to the Ephesians is centred on the Church as Christ’s body, with a mission to make God’s plan of salvation known throughout the world. Christians must “be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in goodness, right living and truth”. Discovering what the Lord wants of us exposes by contrast the “futile works of darkness”.
The dramatic Lenten readings from John’s gospel continue with the healing of the man born blind. At first the man does not seem to care who has healed him. His parents distance themselves out of fear, echoing the growing separation between Jews and Christians by John’s time. But for John, just seeing is not enough, the light of faith is essential. So Jesus seeks the man out and gradually leads him to full belief, and to worship him.
Psalm Response: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13; Psalm 22; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
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