30 March 2025 – 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) (Year A) | RCIA Rite of 2nd Scrutiny

by Fr Fabian Dicom

Brothers and sisters, today as we heard a number of times it is Laetare Sunday, a day of joy in our Lenten journey. So we pause amid our penance to rejoice, not because we have reached Easter but because we glimpse its light from afar. Light that is central in today’s Readings.

The blind man in the Gospel received his sight. But more than that, he was led to the light of faith. And in this light, he came to recognise Jesus as Lord. And that is the crux of today’s Readings.

Our First Reading tells the story of David’s anointing when Samuel was sent to Jesse’s house. He looked at the outward appearances of Jesse’s sons but God told him this (from the Reading today),

“Take no notice of his appearance or his height.”

God does not see as man sees. Man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart.

And yet how often are we preoccupied with the externals? We want to be seen as good Catholics. We want to be seen as faithful people. We worry about what others perceive us, whether we serve in the church, whether we appear pious, whether we follow all the rules. But is that the way we are chosen? Is that the way you and I have been introduced to Jesus Christ and brought here?

God does not choose us because of all our external qualifications but because He sees something deeper in our hearts. Every single one of us. The moment we forget that, we risk turning our faith into mere performance.

David was chosen not because of his stature but because of his heart. And yet even after that, after being anointed, he had moments where his initial passion faded. He failed, he sinned, he lost sight of God but God never abandoned him.

The same happens to us. We may have been enthusiastic about our faith, our journey of faith. And at some point and time in our lives, it may have become routine. It may have become more obligation than a relationship with God and with one another. It may have become more a duty than love.

And this leads us to the Gospel today. The blind man’s journey of faith mirrors our own. At first he calls Jesus ‘the man‘ (if you noticed). Then a ‘Prophet’. And finally ‘Lord‘. This gradual awakening speaks to us.

Many think they see clearly yet blindness takes many forms. And I said earlier, referring to how God chose David, our preoccupation with externals is one of our biggest, greatest blindness. Our preoccupation with the externals, forgetting why God chose us. It is because of this, here in our hearts. 

And when we get caught up with that, it leads us to practicing faith without real encounter. We become self-reliant and that shuts God off. We become indifferent to suffering. We are prejudice. We even fear. That is a crippling blindness. We fear. We fear change. We don’t want to let go.

So today, even the world shapes our vision in ways that we may not even realise. Media, politics, the social pressures influence what we see, distorting reality. We judge others by the headlines. We let society define what is valuable. It is all very subtle. And like in Malaysia, we allow divisions, political, racial or religious, to cloud our perception of one another. And we bring it into the church as well.

The Pharisees, convinced of their own sight, their own vision, failed to recognise Jesus’ standing before them. Could the same be true of us?

True vision comes not from the world’s standards but from Christ who reveals what truly matters.

But how? How then can we be healed? How then can you and I be healed?

The blind man was healed because he encountered Christ. And that is the heart of faith. 

It is not about knowing doctrines and following rituals. It is about meeting a person – Jesus Christ. It is a process, it is a journey and many struggle to believe because they have never truly encountered Him. Or perhaps they did once but life’s burdens, life’s distractions and even the routine of religion itself have clouded their vision.

Where do we encounter Jesus Christ?

Sometimes, maybe more than sometimes, it is in prayer. It is prayer and I said a few days ago, when we abandon ourselves in prayer. And sometimes in the silence where we dare to open our hearts. Sometimes it is in the breaking of the word, when a passage suddenly speaks directly to our situation. And often, it is in the people around us, the poor, the suffering, the ones who challenge us, who call us beyond ourselves. And Jesus is there.

But are we able to see Him? Or are we so caught up in duty that we miss His presence?

As I was preparing for this homily, I prayed, “Lord, show me my blindness.”

And I was shocked. And I wouldn’t want to keep you here the whole day but one of those things, one of my blindness that I would like to share is the need for me to rationalise everything.

Sometimes I am a skeptic. I rather rely on logic and the sciences. And I think I have missed out on this encounter with Jesus. And sometimes it is so hard to believe the experience that I have had, the experiences of others. And today’s Readings have told me it is time perhaps I realise this.

And therefore, foremost in all this, is we need to believe. Faith does not begin with understanding. And this is the teaching of the church. It begins with believing. Too often we say ‘I will believe when I understand.’ That is me, Fabian speaking.

But Jesus invites us to believe first and then as we walk in faith, understanding follows. And this is the great paradox of faith. We do not see in order to believe. We believe in order to see.

Saint Augustine once said, “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, we seek not to understand that you may believe (he says), but believe that you may understand.“

And Saint Anselm, his famous axiom, “Faith seeking understanding.” Meaning that one believes in order to understand, not the other way round.

So be courageous. Be daring to believe. The blind man did not ask for an explanation before he obeyed Jesus’ command to wash in the pool. He simply went. And in going, his eyes were opened.

Paul reminds us in the Second Reading, “You were once darkness but now in the Lord, you are light.” Live as children of light.

And how do we know if we have truly received this light? How do we know that the scales are falling off our eyes (metaphorically)?

Paul continues “The fruit of the light is found in all the good, in all right and all truth.“

These are the signs that indicate we have been given sight. And I believe that we have, that we no longer walk in darkness.

And to live as children as light means that our lives bear the fruit – goodness, genuine kindness and selflessness. And that is goodness.

The right way to live – justice. A commitment to truth and fairness, especially towards the marginalised.

And true, the truth – honesty and integrity in all that we do. No compromise.

These are not just moral virtues. They are the signs that we are walking in the light of Christ. If we see these growing in our lives, perhaps it is evidence that we have been given sight.

Today, the Elect among us receive the Creed. It is a reminder for all of us as well. But the Creed is more than a set of theological statements. It is a profession of love.

To say ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty‘ is to say ‘I trust in His love for me.‘ That is what you are saying. That is what we are asked to say. ‘I trust that God loves me‘.

To say ‘I believe in Jesus Christ‘ is to say ‘I have encountered Him and He has changed my life‘. And I believe He has changed your life.

To say ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit‘ is to say ‘I believe God is working, still working in me, guiding me, shaping me like a potter’s hand molding me, the clay, and making me like a perfect image of Himself.‘

That is what we are professing.

Think of a married couple. Their love is not just a feeling. It is a commitment. They say ‘I love you’ not as empty words but as a truth that they live out daily. In the same way, our profession of faith is not merely an intellectual exercise. It is a declaration of love and that is what you are going to declare – A commitment to walk in the light of Jesus Christ.

So today Jesus asks each of us ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?“

The blind man’s response was ‘Lord, I believe.‘

And what about us? 

Today Jesus is offering us sight. He is inviting us to a faith that is more than words, more than routine. A faith that truly sees.

Let us pray for the grace to move from blindness to sight, from routine to conviction, from duty to love. When we say the Creed, may it not a recitation of words but a declaration of our hearts.

Lord, I believe. Amen.

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