Restored to Joy

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to consider the need of faith in times when Jesus’ promise of renewal of our society seems to be distant and we are distracted by wars and self aggrandizement. 

Joy and Restoration

The Reading from the Prophet Isaiah envisions A World Renewed.

* [65:17–18] The new creation (cf. 66:22) is described with apocalyptic exuberance: long life, material prosperity, and so forth. As the former events in 43:18 are to be forgotten, so also the new creation wipes out memory of the first creation. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 65 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 30 is an individual thanksgiving in four parts.

* [Psalm 30] An individual thanksgiving in four parts: praise and thanks for deliverance and restoration (Ps 30:2–4); an invitation to others to join in (Ps 30:5–6); a flashback to the time before deliverance (Ps 30:7–11); a return to praise and thanks (Ps 30:12). Two sets of images recur: 1) going down, death, silence; 2) coming up, life, praising. God has delivered the psalmist from one state to the other. (Psalms, PSALM 30 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of John proclaims Jesus’ Return to Galilee and a Second Sign at Cana.

* [4:43–54] Jesus’ arrival in Cana in Galilee; the second sign. This section introduces another theme, that of the life-giving word of Jesus. It is explicitly linked to the first sign (Jn 2:11). The royal official believes (Jn 4:50). The natural life given his son is a sign of eternal life.

* [4:44] Probably a reminiscence of a tradition as in Mk 6:4. Cf. Gospel of Thomas 4:31: “No prophet is acceptable in his village, no physician heals those who know him.”

* [4:46–54] The story of the cure of the royal official’s son may be a third version of the cure of the centurion’s son (Mt 8:5–13) or servant (Lk 7:1–10). Cf. also Mt 15:21–28; Mk 7:24–30. (John, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Anish Kochanichottil, SJ, comments that perhaps we can reflect on our own response to suffering. It is often easier to respond to the needs of someone standing right in front of us than to the struggles of people who live far away or whose pain seems distant from our daily lives. In many ways, today’s readings encourage us to recognize that God’s healing is not limited to the distant future.

While the ultimate promise of restoration lies in God’s eternal kingdom, signs of God’s healing love are already present in our world. Prayers of our loved ones and friends for us, the resilience of the human body, supportive communities, and the countless small blessings that sustain daily life can all be seen as gifts that reflect God’s care for humanity. 

The readings also invite us to ask a deeper question: how strong would our faith remain if these blessings were taken away? Many people around the world face suffering, unrest, poverty, and illness despite their prayers. The season of Lent challenges us to examine our faith in light of these realities. It calls us not only to gratitude for the blessings we enjoy but also to solidarity with those who struggle. (Kochanichottil, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Christ our physician,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"God sent the human race a physician, a savior, One Who healed without charging a fee. Christ also came to reward those who would be healed by Him. Christ heals the sick, and He makes a gift to those whom He heals. And the gift that He makes is Himself!" (excerpt from Sermon 102,2) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler was not available at publication time.

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 4:43-54 comments that Jesus wants us to bring our needs to him. But he wants us to go beyond thinking of him only as a last resort when our back is against a wall. He wants us to find ongoing healing and transformation in his friendship.

So go deeper with your faith today. Perhaps you are concerned about a strained relationship, a dead-end job, or a health issue. Bring your need before Jesus. If you feel as if your faith is being tested, imitate the royal official and persist. Take a concrete step of faith, and let Jesus draw you closer to himself. Then add your story of deepening faith to Jesus’ ever-expanding list of marvels and wonders.

“Jesus, as I come to you in my need, lead me to deeper faith and a growing friendship with you.” (Meditation on John 4:43-54, n.d.)

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes how the early church followed Jesus’s practice of honoring universal human dignity. In New Testament times, shame and honor were in fact moral values that people felt compelled to follow. If a situation called for retaliation, one must retaliate. Not to retaliate would have been considered immoral, because it would have meant abandoning the honor of the individual, their family, and maybe their entire village. For Jesus to say, “Do not retaliate,” was to subvert the whole honor-and-shame system. It is one of the strongest arguments people can make that Jesus taught nonviolence.

Once challenged to live outside their cultural systems, Jesus’s listeners were given a new place to find their identity: in God. Who we are in God is who we are. That’s the end of ups and downs. Our value no longer depends upon whether our family or village likes us, whether we’re good-looking, wealthy, or obedient to the laws. Jesus’s message is incredibly subversive in an honor-and-shame society. Yet, as he takes away their old foundations, he offers a new, more solid one: neither shame-based nor guilt-based, but based in who they—and we—are in God. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)

We rely on the Wisdom of the Spirit to guide our understanding of joy as followers of Christ who are called to restore love and dignity based on our essence as children of God and not as advocates for a world view that restores inequality and persecution.

References

Isaiah, CHAPTER 65 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/65?17 

John, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/4?43 

Kochanichottil, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-march-16-2026 

Meditation on John 4:43-54. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/03/16/1519759/ 

Psalms, PSALM 30 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/30? 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Divine Identity. CAC.org. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-divine-identity/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus - the Divine Physician. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 16, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Light and Law

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to ponder the process we use to make decisions about how we relate to the needs of people in our environment.

Light in our Laws

In the Reading from the First Book of Samuel, Samuel Anoints David.

* [16:1] David is anointed two more times after Saul’s death (2 Sm 2:4; 5:3). In 17:28, his brother Eliab is not aware of David’s selection. These repetitions and inconsistencies reflect the final editor’s use of multiple sources.

a. [16:1] Ru 4:17–22; 1 Kgs 1:39; 1 Chr 11:3; Is 11:1; Mt 2:6; Lk 2:4.

b. [16:3] 1 Sm 9:13, 22, 24.

c. [16:5] 1 Sm 9:12–13; 20:26; Ex 19:10; Jb 1:5.

d. [16:7] 1 Sm 10:23–24; 1 Kgs 11:4; 1 Chr 28:9; Prv 15:11; Jer 17:10; 20:12; Lk 16:15; Acts 1:24.

e. [16:8–11] 1 Sm 17:12–13; 1 Chr 2:13–15.

f. [16:11] 1 Sm 17:15, 28, 34; 2 Sm 7:8; Ps 78:70–71.

g. [16:12] 1 Sm 9:2.

h. [16:13] 1 Sm 10:6; 11:6; Jgs 3:10; 9:9; Sir 46:13. (1 Samuel, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 23 proclaims God’s loving care under the figure of a shepherd.

* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10). (Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the Letter to the Ephesians declares a Duty to Live in the Light.

* [5:14] An early Christian hymn, possibly from a baptismal liturgy. For the content compare Eph 2:5–6; 3:9 and Is 60:1. (Ephesians, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus heals the Man Born Blind.

* [9:1–10:21] Sabbath healing of the man born blind. This sixth sign is introduced to illustrate the saying, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12; 9:5). The narrative of conflict about Jesus contrasts Jesus (light) with the Jews (blindness, Jn 9:39–41). The theme of water is reintroduced in the reference to the pool of Siloam. Ironically, Jesus is being judged by the Jews, yet the Jews are judged by the Light of the world; cf. Jn 3:19–21.

* [9:2] See note on Jn 5:14, and Ex 20:5, that parents’ sins were visited upon their children. Jesus denies such a cause and emphasizes the purpose: the infirmity was providential.

* [9:7] Go wash: perhaps a test of faith; cf. 2 Kgs 5:10–14. The water tunnel Siloam (= Sent) is used as a symbol of Jesus, sent by his Father.

* [9:14] In using spittle, kneading clay, and healing, Jesus had broken the sabbath rules laid down by Jewish tradition.

* [9:22] This comment of the evangelist (in terms used again in Jn 12:42; Jn 16:2) envisages a situation after Jesus’ ministry. Rejection/excommunication from the synagogue of Jews who confessed Jesus as Messiah seems to have begun ca. A.D. 85, when the curse against the mînîm or heretics was introduced into the “Eighteen Benedictions.”

* [9:24] Give God the praise!: an Old Testament formula of adjuration to tell the truth; cf. Jos 7:19; 1 Sm 6:5 LXX. Cf. Jn 5:41.

* [9:32] A person born blind: the only Old Testament cure from blindness is found in Tobit (cf. Tb 7:7; 11:7–13; 14:1–2), but Tobit was not born blind.

* [9:39–41] These verses spell out the symbolic meaning of the cure; the Pharisees are not the innocent blind, willing to accept the testimony of others. (John, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

Candice Tucci, OSF, comments that the people in the readings today declined to “see with their hearts.” They were in darkness and unable to acknowledge the unexpected. They refused to accept the long-awaited anticipated messiah. Jesus, the Word made flesh, was before them. But, behold, a blind person saw and experienced Jesus, not only physically, but with the heart. 

Jesus also emphasized that blindness, and may I say, other afflictions are not because of parental sins. Or maybe some hardships are? We are human, and life happens. Through each of our lives, within the experiences of our afflictions, God works the unexpected that helps to bring us to wholeness and peace. We live and work within our abilities and shortcomings. There are times we seek forgiveness.   Let us remember and pray the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr.

God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And Wisdom to know the difference.  

                                         

With faith, we recognize the grace given when the “Spirit might rush upon us.” The works of God are made visible in the mutual building up of the reign of God. God does God’s part, and we do ours in faith, with hope, and in the practice of charity.

 

In life, it is true, we may sometimes encounter resistance. Even our own. Why? Something to think about. But here, the Pharisees refused to believe in what was before their eyes. They lost the spirit of recognizing unexpected kindness and compassion in their midst. They lacked sight of their call. They were in the dark, unable to see who was present in the light of day. Anticipation of the coming of a messiah may have been forgotten. But here, before them, was Jesus, the Light of the world. (Tucci, 2026)

 Don Schwager quotes  “The unchangeable Light,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"I entered into my inmost self with You, Lord, as my guide - And this I was able to do because You were my helper. I entered in and saw with the eye of my soul, the unchangeable Light, very different from earthly lights. It was above my mind but not the way oil is above water or heaven above the earth. It was superior because it made me, and I inferior because I was made by it. Those who know the truth know this light, and those who know it know eternity - It is charity that knows it." (excerpt from Confessions 7,10) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler was not available at publication time.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Ephesians 5:8-14 comments that Paul gives us some advice on what living as “children of light” looks like. He tells us to “learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8, 10). And how do we do that? By being consistent in prayer, by pondering the Scriptures, and by staying “awake” to the Spirit (5:13). When we let Jesus shed his light into our hearts, we experience greater freedom and healing from sin. As we allow his light to shine through us, we are able to guide others to him.

In the same way in which natural light is essential for our physical life, we need the spiritual light of Christ to keep our inner lives healthy. And when his light shines through us, we will produce “every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth” (Ephesians 5:9).

“Jesus, you are my light! Help me to let your light shine through me.” (Meditation on Ephesians 5:8-14, n.d.)

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, identifies how Jesus challenged the strict laws of his day that governed what was “honorable” and what was not. On some level, we all create “meritocracies” or worthiness systems and invariably base them on some kind of purity code—racial, national, sexual, moral, or cultural. This material makes up much of Leviticus and Numbers, and also is the compulsion of almost every Christian denomination after the Reformation. The pattern never changes because it’s the pattern of the fearful and over-defended ego.

Jesus was a radical reformer of religion, in large part because he showed no interest in maintaining purity systems or closed systems of any kind. They only appeal to the ego and lead no one to God. Jesus actively undercut these systems, even against his own followers when they wanted to persecute others (see Luke 9:49–56). He showed no interest in the various debt and purity codes of ancient Israel, which are the religious forms of power and exclusion. In fact, Jesus often openly flouted many of the accepted purity codes of his own religion, especially the Sabbath prohibitions, rules about washing hands and cups, and the many restrictions that made various people “impure.” Jesus’s attempts at reform comprise half of the Gospel text directly or indirectly (see Matthew 15:1–14). (Rohr, n.d.)

We invoke the Spirit to enlighten our blindness to the needs of our neighbours as we follow Jesus and “change the things we can”.

References

Ephesians, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/5?8 

John, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/9?1 

Meditation on Ephesians 5:8-14. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/03/15/1519140/ 

1 Samuel, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1samuel/16?1 

Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC.org. Retrieved March 15, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/jesus-did-not-play-by-the-rules/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Frees Us from Spiritual Blindness and Sin. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 15, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Tucci, C. (2026, March 15). Daily Reflection March 15, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved March 15, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-march-15-2026