The Gospel texts in this liturgical year are taken from the evangelist Matthew, except for the third, fourth, and fifth weeks of Lent. In these weeks we are put in touch with the earliest celebration of Lent, which lasted three weeks.
In this period, the catechumens, those seeking baptism, undergo an examination of their readiness to take on the Christian life, which is referred to as the “scrutinies.” Through the stories of the woman at the well, the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus, the catechumens are invited to examine the movement of the Spirit in their souls calling them to a deepening of the conversion needed for baptism.
Jesus’ encounter with the woman in Samaria is a story of the Lord breaking through the obstacles that often are placed in the way of hearing the call to conversion. He breaks several social taboos by speaking to this “foreigner” and to someone ostracized by her own community as a sinner. She comes to the well in the heat of the day to avoid the cool-morning crowds and their judgment of her for having five husbands.
As Jesus reveals that he knows her past and does not condemn her, he makes clear that his only concern is to put her in touch with the thirst God has placed in her soul of his unconditional love for her. Once she drinks that water, she discovers the eternal wellspring that will make inconsequential all the ways she has sought to slake the thirsts in her life. Once she understands this, she leaves behind the jar she has brought to the well and goes out and evangelizes others.
So, too, the catechumens are invited to put aside the unsatisfying attempts to find meaning and embrace the wellspring of God’s love. That is the conversion required for baptism, for only then can the newly baptized take up the mission of bringing the gospel to the world.
As the Lenten journey continues, the focus shifts from the soul’s thirst for satisfaction and meaning to the eyes’ vision. Jesus heals a man born blind using clay and spittle, but quickly we see that the physical miracle is secondary to the spiritual one.
Ironically, as the man gains physical sight and eventually recognizes Jesus as the Son of Man, the religious leaders, who claim they can see, become increasingly “blind” through their pride and legalism to all that God is doing. They place limits on who and when God acts and that is their blindness.
The catechumens likewise are to trust not in their own abilities, which can be compromised by pride and prejudice, but by keeping their eyes fixed on Jesus who is Lord and who reveals the Father who so loved the world that he gave us his only Son.
The climax of the Lenten scrutinies is the restoration of Lazarus. This is the final “sign” in John’s Gospel before the Passion begins. It serves as a foreshadowing of Easter and a testament to Jesus’ authority over the grave. “Lazarus, come out!” Jesus shouts.
The question to Martha is posed to the catechumens, “Do you believe this?” It is a question that challenges those to be baptized to let Jesus unbind them and indeed all of us from the burial cloths of our own habits and fears.
But these ancient readings were not just for the early “catechumens.” They force everyone in the Christian community to look in the mirror and to deepen their own conversion, for the Christian life is a constant process of being refreshed, enlightened and reborn. We each are called to put aside the jar of stale water of passing pleasures by which we pretend to be satisfied.
We each are invited to rely on the Jesus as the Lord, who is God’s only Son given to us, rather than trusting in our own abilities to save us. We each are asked, “Do you believe” that Jesus is truly risen and has invited us to share life for all eternity with him? Having come through this cycle of conversion, we are ready to enter the holy days of Easter, joining Jesus on the path to the cross and the empty tomb is clearly paved.
May we make these ancient scrutinies the means by which we make our faith every young and new.