The word for anointed in Hebrew is Meshiach or Messiah. In Greek the word is Christos or Christ and also means anointed. The reason I share this with you is that when we are baptized, we share in this anointing, and participate in our Lords ministry of being Priest, Prophet and King. In today’s readings we learn of two very different annointings. In our first reading we learn of the boy who would become one of the greatest Kings of Israel, and a man after God’s own heart, the legendary King David. Scripture tells us that after his anointing, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him. I love that phrase. It makes me see that at baptism, the Holy Spirit rushes upon us. How cool is that! St. Paul reminds us to walk in the light of Christ, and to remember all that He has delivered us from. We need to be awake and alert and on guard. How true this is in our own day and age. Finally we have the Gospel of St. John telling us the story of the man born blind and of his healing as well as the intense questioning by Pharisees who did not believe he was the same guy! Here too we have a different kind of anointing. Our Blessed Lord Jesus spits on the ground and mixes it with some dirt and then anoints the eyes of this blind man. Suddenly this man born blind can now see. In reflecting on these accounts it is easy to see the many times in our own lives we have been blinded by sin or pride. Sometimes we even choose the darkness. It is time to put an end to those things, time to embrace our Baptismal graces and annointings and ask Jesus to open our eyes. So this week, take some time on this Lenten journey and ask God to show you where in your life you need to do better, and allow your eyes opened to the beauty and pure light that is Jesus Christ our Lord, our God and our friend... May God richly bless you always
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