Light Of Life

March 16, 2026

in Life Worth Giving, Spritual Growth

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March 15, 2026:
Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-13, 28-38

4th Sunday in Lent 2026 Homily – Abp. Hines

Today is the 4th Sunday of Lent, a time to prepare ourselves to receive what God has in store for us. In God’s mercy and grace, He gives us opportunities upon opportunities. In the 23rd Psalm, it says “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” What does a shepherd do? He takes care of his sheep. The Lord guides us to the paths of righteousness. Jesus left His divinity in heaven and came as man to redeem mankind. The things Jesus did on earth are all instructions from the Father. We’ve been told that “Greater is He in us than he who is in the world.” Unfortunately, though, when we fall to the enemy’s deception, we quickly panic. We’ve got to come to the point where we truly know who we are. From the very beginning, He created us to be like Him. We are to be like Him, not giving in to difficulties but conquering them. We should set our hearts to what He desires of us. He has anointed us with His power. He has blessed us. Do we know God’s plan? Scripture says even when we were in our mother’s womb, He already had a plan for us. Jesus was born of a woman. He had to go through all the things that man goes through. Jesus said, “while I am in the world, I am the Light of the World.” In John 8:12, Jesus declares, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

We see Jesus and His disciples walking one day, and He saw a blind man. He knew that the man was blind because the Spirit revealed this to Him. He had compassion on the man and He told His disciples that the man was blind from birth. The disciples being very human, questioned Him, “who sinned, Was it his parents? Or him who sinned?” Jesus’ response was that it was not really a matter of who have sinned but that He wanted to show forth the greatness of God. He was wanting to show us the power of God through a miracle. Jesus spat on the dusty ground, formed clay out of this and put it on the eyes of the blind man. Then He told the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. It is said that this pool has a healing power. When the angels come to stir up the waters, and when one goes in, healing takes place. The man followed Jesus’ instructions. When he came out of the pool, he could see. He was then brought to the Pharisees. They began to question him and asked him who did this. When the man told his story, the Pharisees could not believe it and kicked him out of the synagogue. The Pharisees were not satisfied with the man’s story and summoned his parents to find out if what he was saying was true. The blind man was healed and began to worship Jesus.

We should know that we are children of God. We need to choose what is right. Have we demonstrated His life to the world? God sent Jesus to show us- He walked on water, He healed the sick, He raised the dead, He fed thousands. John 14:12 Jesus declares that “whoever believes in Him will do the same works He has done—and even greater works—because He is going to the Father.”

Christ’s compassion upon the man should cause us to be compassionate to others. God wants all men to be free. He wants all to have life. Ephesians 5: 8-14 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” The Kingdom is already here. We can live in this Kingdom if only we believe. We have the power of God in us. We need to wake up and realize who we are in Christ.