＊＊＊1st Reading＊＊＊

1 Samuel 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a

Yahweh asked Samuel,

“How long will you be grieving over Saul whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way to Jesus the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.” As they came, Samuel looked at Eliab the older and thought, “This must be Yahweh’s anointed.” But Yahweh told Samuel,

“Do not judge by his looks or his stature for I have rejected him. Yahweh does not judge as man judges; humans see with the eyes; Yahweh does not judge as man judges; humans see with the eyes; Yahweh sees the heart.”

Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel who said, “Yahweh has chosen none of them. But are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “ There is still the youngest, tending the flock just now.” Samuel said to him, “ Send for him and bring him to me; we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.

“ So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him to Samuel. He was a handsome lad with a ruddy complexion and beautiful eyes. And Yahweh spoke, “Go, anoint him for he is the one.” Samuel then took the born of oil and anointed him in his brother’s presence. From that day onwards, Yahweh’s spirit took hold of David. Then Samuel left for Ramah.

 

Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6(1)

The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.

 

＊＊＊2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Ephesians 5: 8-14

You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Behave as children of light;   the fruits of light are kindness, justice and truth in every form.

 You yourselves search out what pleases the Lord,   and take no part in works of darkness that are of no benefit; expose them instead.  

 Indeed it is a shame even to speak of what those people do in secret, but as soon as it is exposed to the light, everything becomes clear; and what is unmasked, becomes clear through light. Therefore it is said: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead that the light of Christ may shine on you.”

 

 ＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

   John 9: 1-41

 As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.   His disciples asked him, “Master, was he born blind because of a sin of his, or of his parents?”

Jesus answered, “Neither was it for his own sin nor for his parents’. He was born blind so that God’s power might be shown in him.  While it is day we must do the work of the One who sent me; for the night will come when no one can work.   As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

 As Jesus said this, he made paste with spittle and clay and rubbed it on the eyes of the blind man.  Then he said, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” (This name means sent.) So he went and washed and came back able to see.

His neighbors and all the people who used to see him begging, wondered. They said, “Isn’t this the beg­gar who used to sit here?”  Some said, “It’s the one.” Others said, “No, but he looks like him.”

But the man himself said, “I am the one.”   Then they asked, “How is it that your eyes were opened?”  And he answered, “The man called Jesus made a mud paste, put it on my eyes and said to me: ‘Go to Silo­am and wash.’ So I went, and washed, and I could see.”   They asked, “Where is he?” and the man answered, “I don’t know.”

 The people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees.  Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made mud paste and opened his eyes. The Pharisees asked him again, “How did you recover your sight?” And he said, “He put paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.”

Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he works on the Sabbath”; but others wondered, “How can a sinner perform such miraculous signs?” They were divided and they questioned the blind man again, “What do you think of this man who opened your eyes?” And he answered, “He is a pro­phet.”

 After all this, the Jews refused to believe that the man had been blind and had recovered his sight; so they called his parents and asked them, “Is this your son? You say that he was born blind, how is it that he now sees?” 

The parents answered, “He really is our son and he was born blind;  but how it is that he now sees, we don’t know, neither do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is old enough. Let him speak for himself.”

 The parents said this because they feared the Jews who had already agreed that whoever confessed Jesus to be the Christ was to be expelled. Because of this his parents said, “He is old enough, ask him.”

 So a second time the Pharisees called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Tell us the truth; we know that this man is a sinner.” He replied, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner or not; I only know that I was blind and now I 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 would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”

 Then they started to insult him. “Become his disciple yourself! We are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man we don’t know where he comes from.”

 The man replied, “It is amazing that you don’t know where the man comes from, and yet he opened my eyes! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone honors God and does his will, God listens to him. 

Never, since the world began, has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person who was born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”  They answered him, “You were born a sinner and now you teach us!” And they expelled him.

Jesus heard that they had expelled him. He found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is he, that I may be­lieve in him?” Jesus said, “You have seen him and he is speaking to you. He said, “Lord, I believe”; and he worshiped him.

 Jesus said, “I came into this world to carry out a judgment: Those who do not see shall see, and those who see shall become blind.” Some Pharisees stood by and asked him, “So we are blind?” And Jesus answered, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty. Now you say: ‘We see’; this is the proof of your sin.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

Read: The first reading shows us Samuel’s journey to find the Lord’s chosen one, and the ritual for anointing the new king. In the Gospel, Jesus gives sight to the man born blind.

In this episode, the most unlikely person receives the light of faith in Jesus, while the religion-oriented, law-educated Pharisees remain spiritually blind. Jesus gave to the blind beggar not only his bodily eyesight but also the light of faith.

Reflect: In the Gospel, the blind man’s progress in spiritual sight, the three-stage development of his faith in Jesus, reminds us that we need God’s grace In order to have a clearer spiritual vision in life.

The Pharisees suffered from spiritual blindness. They were blind to the Spirit of God. They had religion but they lacked the spirit of Jesus’ love. They were also blind to the suffering and pain of other people right before their eyes.

There was no compassion in their hearts. They were truly blind both to the Spirit of God and to the presence of God in the human suffering around them. In contrast, the man born blind, who was completely ignorant and uneducated, was the one able to see the presence of God in Jesus.

Pray: Lord, remind us always that those who pretend to see the truth are often blind, while those who acknowledge their blindness are given clear vision. 

Act: Pray for the poor and those who suffer in your community and do something to alleviate their pain or suffering.