First Reading • 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Psalm • Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
Second Reading • Ephesians 5:8-14
Gospel • John 4:5-42
John Newton was born in England in 1725. He grew up in a religious home, but as he got older, he drifted far from the faith of his childhood. He joined the English Royal Navy, and after his service ended, he began working on ships involved in the Atlantic slave trade.
Before long, Newton became a captain himself. He transported men, women, and children in chains from Africa to the West Indies.
Everything changed in 1748. While sailing off the coast of Ireland, Newton’s ship was caught in a violent storm.
Waves crashed over the deck, and the vessel seemed certain to sink. Convinced he was about to die, Newton did something he had not done in years: he prayed. He cried out to God for mercy and promised that if his life were spared, he would give his life to God in return.
The ship survived. Newton managed to guide it safely back to shore.
For him, there was no doubt that God had intervened. And he did not forget the promise he had made in the storm.
In time, he left the slave trade and began pursuing ordination in the Church of England. It was not easy.
For seven years he applied and was rejected, largely because of his limited education. Finally, he was accepted, ordained, and sent to serve a small parish.
Newton could not escape his past. Haunted by the memory of those he had transported in chains, he now saw with new eyes.
Where once he had viewed them as cargo and profit, he now recognized them as human beings – brothers and sisters created in the image of God – and he was ashamed of the suffering he had helped cause.
Knowing that the slave trade continued, he went to London to seek change.
There he joined forces with William Wilberforce, and after years of determined effort, their work helped lead to the Slave Trade Act of 1807,
which outlawed the trafficking of enslaved people throughout the British Empire.
Even if we do not recognize John Newton’s name, we know his words.
He wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace,” one of the most beloved hymns in the English language.
In it, he speaks of a grace so powerful that it not only saved his soul but transformed his vision: “I once was blind, but now I see.” Those words echo the blind man in today’s Gospel.
Faith gave John Newton new sight.
It changed not only what he believed but how he saw. And once his eyes were opened, he could not go back. True vision demanded action.
Today’s readings are about that kind of vision.
In the first reading, the prophet Samuel is sent to anoint a new king. He looks at Jesse’s sons the way most of us would; judging by appearance, strength, and stature.
Surely the most impressive must be God’s choice. But the Lord corrects him: “Man sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.”
God chooses the youngest, David. From David’s line will come the Messiah. God sees differently than we do.
In the Gospel, Jesus gives sight to a man born blind. It is a stunning miracle. Yet the Pharisees refuse to see what stands before them.
They are so concerned about their authority and control that they miss the work of God in their midst.
Ironically, the man who had been physically blind comes to see clearly; not only with his eyes but with his heart; while those who claim to see remain spiritually blind. When he speaks the truth, they cast him out.
That temptation belongs to us as well. We are naturally drawn to people who are successful, attractive, influential, or entertaining.
There is nothing wrong with appreciating those qualities. But when that is all we see, we become blind to something deeper.
Every person we encounter bears the image of God. Every person reflects something of Him.
When we judge others only by what they can give us or do for us, we fail to see as God sees.
Jesus wants to heal that blindness. He wants to strip away the layers formed by chasing pleasure, power, profit, and prestige.
He wants us to see the dignity within ourselves and within others.
In the Gospel, Jesus sends the blind man to wash in the pool of Siloam, and there his sight is restored. We receive our new vision in the waters of baptism. In those waters, we discover who we truly are: sons and daughters of God. Our sins do not define us.
Our failures do not define us. We are defined by the love of Christ, who gave His life for us.
When we begin to see ourselves that way, we also begin to see others differently.
We recognize in every person a brother or sister. Our eyes open to the suffering of the poor and the pain of the oppressed.
Faith does not allow us to look away. Like John Newton, once we see clearly, we are called to respond.
In a few moments, we will approach the table of the Eucharist. To human sight, it appears to be simple bread and wine.
But faith tells us it is the Body and Blood of Christ. Faith allows us to see what cannot be seen with the eyes alone.
And when we leave this place, that same faith must shape how we see the world.
We must not look at others with merely human vision.
We must see men and women loved and redeemed by God.
We must see our brothers and sisters; and having truly seen them, we must love and serve them.
“Sometimes we walk through life like this:” “unable to see people as God sees them. Pride, prejudice, or selfishness can cover the eyes of our hearts.”
Then hold up the glasses:
“But faith does something beautiful. Faith becomes like spiritual glasses. Suddenly we begin to see what we could not see before.”
“That is exactly what happened to John Newton. Once he saw people as cargo and profit. But when faith opened his eyes, he saw them as brothers and sisters created in the image of God. And so, he could write the famous words: ‘I once was blind, but now I see.’”
“May the Lord remove every blindness from our hearts, so that we may see Him in the Eucharist and recognize Him in every person we meet.”
