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SCRIPTURE READINGS

1 SAMUEL 16:1-13

EPHESIANS 5:8-14

JOHN 9:1-41

SUNDAY REFLECTION

“Now I can see” is the theme for our reflection. To see means to perceive with the eyes or discern visually. In our reflection, we shall understand seeing as the ability to perceive beyond the visual sight. We shall look at two important implications of a believer who can see:

1. To see means to discern the will of God in a given situation.
2. To see means to be able to decipher between good and evil and to do that which pleases God.

First, “now I can see” means we have reached a stage in our spiritual life or growth where we can perceive or discern the will of God in the issues we face in life. Samuel had the responsibility of anointing the next King of Israel, yet he could not see or perceive the will of God during his search. “When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:6-7) Beloved in the Lord, at that particular moment Samuel was blind because he allowed the worldly standard, perception or criteria of what constitutes the qualities of a leader to cloud his judgement, but God opened his eyes to discern His will and what he must look out for. It is impossible to see until we are able to discern God’s will. Similarly, the Pharisees were also blind because they were unable to discern the will of God in the event of Jesus healing the blind man. Jesus declared the will of God to his disciples when “His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:2-3) The Pharisees, instead of rejoicing with the man whose sight was restored by Jesus were rather accusing Jesus of healing on the Sabbath day. The Pharisees were spiritually blind because they were unable to discern the will of God in man’s life. They said to the man who had his sight restored by Jesus that “we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (John 9:29-33) The man’s answer to the Pharisees proved that not only was his sight restored physically by Jesus, but spiritually his eyes were opened to see and discern the will of God in the life of humanity through Jesus. Jesus said, “For judgment, I have come into this world so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (John 9:39-41) When we are unable to discern to will of God, we shall remain blind and our guilt remains. Let us yearn to discern the will of God through faith and the study of His word so that in every given situation, we shall see and do His will and also have His will done in our lives.

Second, “now I can see” means that one is able to decipher between good and evil and, most importantly, please God in his or her choices or decisions. Paul admonishes the church in Ephesus that “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:8-11) To be in darkness is the same as being blind. A person who is in darkness lives in sin and takes delight in doing that, which is evil. The good news is that through the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are able to see and clearly differentiate between good and bad or evil and ultimately discover and do what pleases the Lord in every situation. Beloved in the Lord, Christians are to lead the world in doing good or what pleases the Lord because we can see spiritually and have become the light in the word. Jesus said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Dear friend, now we can see, therefore, we have been commissioned to bring light to where there is darkness by preaching or witnessing about Christ to the world just as the man who was healed did, and also make choices that will please God in every situation.

In summary, the theme for our reflection is “now I can see.” In our reflection, we have discovered that “now I can see” has two implications or significance; To see means to discern the will of God in a given situation, and again, “now I can see” means to be able to decipher between good and evil and to do that which pleases God. May the Holy Spirit restore and keep our eyes opened to continually discern the will of God and to know the difference between good and evil even as we live our lives to please the Lord. Amen.