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The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A)

Have you ever wondered where the whole idea of “Messiah” came from? Its origins are found in today’s first reading from 1 Samuel 16 when the prophet Samuel was sent by God to anoint one of the eight sons of Jesse to become the king of Israel. God said, “Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons” (v. 1). When Samuel found Jesse’s son, David, whom God had chosen to be king, Samuel took “the horn of oil in hand” and “anointed him in the midst of his brothers” (v. 16).

“Messiah” is the Hebrew word for “the anointed one,” and in the Old Testament, men were made into kings through this royal anointing. According to Israelite thought, the title Messiah was equivalent to King.

The psalm we sing is taken from Psalm 23, which was written by King David himself! In this psalm, we both hear and pray, “You anoint my head with oil” (v. 5).

In the Gospel of John (9:1-41), Jesus is shown to be the fulfillment of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah, which is also known as the Festival of Lights – an eight-day celebration commemorating the Second Century B.C. rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt. This festival is observed by the lighting of the eight-candle Menorah. One candle is lit each night, progressing to the eighth on the final night. Jesus is the “light of the world” (v. 5). He rose from the dead on the eighth day of the Jewish week: Sunday!

John the Evangelist tells of Jesus healing “a man blind from birth” (v. 1). Jesus performed this healing in a very curious way: “he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes” (v. 6). The Greek word translated as “smeared” (epichrio) literally means “anointed.” This same verb is used again later in the same passage when this blind beggar gave testimony: “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed (epichrio) my eyes” (v. 11).

Jesus opened this man’s eyes to natural light through this anointing to say what his Paschal Mystery (i.e. Suffering, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension) does for humanity supernaturally. We are blind beggars, wounded by the darkness of sin. Through the royal anointing of Baptism and Confirmation, Jesus unites us with his saving mystery, delivering us from sin and uniting us with “God [who] is light.” (2 John 1:5).

The result has a real, lasting impact in our lives as Paul proclaims in the first reading: “Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8-10).