Fourth Tuesday of Lent

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a Sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

—John 9:13–16

According to the religious law of the day, Jesus was breaking the law by healing on the Sabbath. But Jesus exposed the corrupt and unjust hearts of many of the Pharisees by this action. These Jewish leaders were threatened by him. In their spiritual blindness, the Pharisees turn the very thing that reveals Jesus is of God into evidence against him. This is what we often see in corrupt author- ity—the use of power not to serve others but to safeguard personal interests. We see this in our workplaces, schools, community organizations, and also in ourselves when we seek to control outcomes that benefit us more than others. But Jesus heals our vision when we learn to serve others before

tending to our own greedy interests.

Today, look for an opportunity to lower yourself and lift up someone else—by taking the seat in the back or a parking space far from the door or by deflecting praise from yourself toward someone else who is deserving.

 This reflection from Messages of Trust for Lent, originally published by Ave Maria Press, was reprinted with permission of the authors, Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran. For more parish resources, visit https://www.rebuiltparish.com/.

Responsorial psalms are excerpted from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Other scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC, and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.