Choosing Sight and Light

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Today's Readings:
[ 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 ]

The readings today invite us to reflect on how God sees and how we see.

In the First Book of Samuel, the prophet Samuel assumes that Israel’s next king must surely be the strongest and most impressive of Jesse’s sons. But God corrects him with a lesson that echoes throughout Scripture: “The Lord does not see as mortals see.” Human beings are naturally drawn to outward appearance, status, and strength. God looks instead at the heart. And so the shepherd boy David—the youngest, the overlooked one—is chosen.

Psalm 23 reminds us that the Lord is still the shepherd who guides His people. Even when we walk through dark valleys, when the way forward seems uncertain, we are not abandoned. The shepherd sees the path ahead even when we do not.

In the Gospel, Jesus heals a man born blind. Yet the miracle reveals more than restored physical sight. The man who had been blind comes to see clearly who Jesus is, while the religious leaders—confident in their own understanding—remain spiritually blind. The one who once sat in darkness comes into the light, while those who believed they already saw refuse the light standing before them.

St. Paul’s words in Ephesians capture the invitation that runs through all these readings: “Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light.”

To follow Christ is to allow Him to open our eyes—to see ourselves honestly, to see others with charity, and to walk the path our shepherd sets before us.

And the good news is this: the One who truly sees us is also the One who faithfully leads us.

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