Living in the Light of the Lord - Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Year A readings)

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Across all cultures and times, light has been used as a symbol of knowledge and truth. It’s easy to see how this makes sense. Human beings are very sight-oriented. We have many senses, but the one that provides us with the most information about the world is our sight. To be without sight is a very serious handicap. Those who are blind, like the man in today’s gospel, have to navigate the world without a lot of the information we ordinarily take for granted. And any of us can find ourselves in a similar situation at any time by simply turning off the lights. We need light to see, otherwise we are left in darkness, effectively blind. So just as light is equated with knowledge and truth, darkness is equated with ignorance and falsehood. Today’s readings are all about spiritual light and spiritual darkness; living in God’s truth or living apart from it.