Pastor's
Weekly Sermon
Lent 4A – March 19, 2023
John 9: 1- 41 The Man Born Blind
“Believing is Seeing”
Along the side of a market square in Galilee sits a blind man. He sits in this same spot everyday of every week. He has sat here every day for years. This is his place. This is his turf. He knows all the sounds and the smells of this place. He knows all the surrounding shop keepers and they know him. He knows each person by the sound of their footsteps and the sound of their voice. He sits here day in and day out begging for coins—begging for his daily bread.
This man has been blind since birth. He has never seen anything. He feels the warmth of the sun but he has never seen the yellow orb in the sky. He hears the leaves rustling in the wind but he has never seen the majestic green of the trees. He hears people’s voices but has no idea each has a different face. The very word ‘Eyesight’ means nothing to him. He has no idea what seeing is like. All he knows is that it does seem useful to keep people from bumping into things that he stumbles over.
So he sits begging every day. He sits wrapped in his beggar’s cloak and spread part of it on the ground in front of him and places his beggar’s bowl on it. Some people are kind and generous, others make sport of him and his lack of sight. They throw their coins on his cloak or on the ground in front of him just so they can have a little entertainment and a laugh watching as his hands scramble to retrieve the coins he cannot see.
On this day there are new voices in the marketplace—men he hasn’t heard before. He notices them because they are talking about him. They talk about him as if he isn’t even there. They must think that because a person can’t see that must mean he can’t hear either!
Maybe you’ve had this same experience. It happens most often in the hospital. For instance, your doctor comes into your room for morning rounds with a group of student doctors in tow. They gather around your bed and discuss you and your case as if you weren’t even there. They get very clinical while OBSERVING you. While I don’t mind helping student doctors gain experience and knowledge, I’m really uncomfortable with being put under a microscope and inspected like some kind of curiosity. I feel they forget I’m a human being!
That’s what seems to be happening here. The disciples put this blind man under a spiritual microscope like some kind of specimen, to find out what makes his soul tick. They want to analyze his situation instead of engaging him and talking to him with compassion as a human being. They’d rather study him from a distance rather than getting up close and personal with him—finding out what life has been like for him—getting to know him—asking what they can do to help.
Instead they ask a theological, philosophical, analytical question. (which kind of keeps them at a distance from him instead of up close and personal) They ask Jesus to enlighten them as to the reason for this man’s blindness. They assume someone’s sin has caused this to happen. So they ask Jesus, who sinned? The man himself, or his parents?
Aren’t we a lot like the disciples? We also can be afraid to get too close to those who are blind or homeless or less fortunate in some way. We too want to know why things are the way they are. We want to know why people are poor. We want to analyze why people are homeless. We want to study the causes of hunger. We would rather keep a safe distance and examine the situation. Jesus counsels us to be compassionate rather than analytical. He simply tells us to get in there and “Feed the hungry”, don’t study them. “Shelter the homeless”, don’t analyze them. “Visit the sick”, don’t just try to figure our how they got that way. Work from your heart, not just your head.
Jesus won’t let them get away with keeping their distance and staying in their heads. With the eyes of his heart, Jesus doesn’t see an interesting case study, he sees a human being, a precious person loved by his Father. This is to become a lesson in compassion, not philosophy.
So, to begin this lesson, Jesus makes mud and puts it on the man’s eyes. Here Jesus shows himself to be a chip off the Old Divine Block—like heavenly Father, like Holy Son—in the beginning, the heavenly Father made mud from the dust of the newly formed earth and created a man with it. This man born without eyes is an unfinished creation. So Jesus, who is the Living Water, spits on the ground, makes mud with his saliva—his living water—and the dust of the earth, and with it he creates eyes for this man, making him a completed creation—he becomes finished and Whole.
Jesus takes this Holy Mud he has made and anoints the blind man’s eyes with it. Thru-out the Bible, anointing is a very important action. When a person is anointed it usually means they are called by God. They are set aside—chosen—for some very special purpose. God directed Samuel to anoint Jesse’s youngest son, David, calling him out as Israel’s next king. And the moment Samuel anointed David, the scripture tells us that the Spirit of God came upon David.
So likewise, this blind man is anointed—called by God for his purposes. And just what is that purpose. Jesus simple says, “the man is blind so that God’s glory, grace and mercy might be revealed.” He is blind so that thru him, God’s compassion and love might shine thru him for all to see.
You know why compassion is difficult—because it’s an intimate thing. You have to go to someone, speak with them, touch them, hear them. And in order to do that, we have to make ourselves a little vulnerable too. And that is uncomfortable. Sometimes we feel helpless when we visit the sick or the homebound. We feel useless when we can’t do something for them. But just being there is a gift in itself. It’s called the ministry of presence and it’s an amazing gift we give when we just show up and be with someone.
When we analyze the problems of the world, we feel more in control because we can understand what’s going on. And while addressing the underlying causes of hunger or homelessness is important, it is even more important to give the gift of one-on-one compassion to our brothers and sisters—to touch them and let them touch us.
Next, Jesus tells the blind man to Go wash in the pool of Siloam. And so he stands up, leaving his beggars bowl and blanket behind, and is led to the Pool of Siloam. And as he washes, eyesight is given to him. He opens his eyes and sees the world for the very first time. Can you imagine what an amazing and emotional moment that must have been? WOMAN WHO REGAINED HER HEARING FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Our blind man opens his eyes and his whole life is transformed! The glory of God can be seen shining in his newly opened eyes. And life will never be the same. He leaves behind his begging bowl and his old worn-out beggars cloak. He doesn’t need them anymore. He, in fact leaves behind his old way of life. He leaves behind his old identity. His encounter with Jesus has enables him to leave behind old labels that had been put upon him—he can no longer be called a blind man. He is no longer a beggar. He leaves behind his old life. His new identity is Beloved child of God.
You know, like the blind man, we too are incomplete. All of us have our flaws and our blind spots. And God isn’t finished creating us yet either. Have you ever thought that maybe God uses your very flaws and imperfections to show his glory and grace to the world? What an awesome and humbling thought! If we really believed that God’s glory shines thru our imperfections, we would see each other in a whole new light. We would look at people in wheelchairs differently. We would revere the mentally challenged as Holy people. We would see the blind and the lame as our teachers and sit at their feet for our lessons.
And don’t we all carry around labels that try to define us? Labels like—not good enough—not smart enough—blue collar—labels like ‘diabetic’ or ‘asthmatic’—we are not a disease we are a human being! We wear all kinds of identities like that beggar’s blanket. Maybe we were called the teacher’s pet, or goody two-shoes, or the black sheep. Sometimes even noble sounding labels can weigh us down too— the bread-winner, strong shoulders, the care-taker.
Martin Luther used to be plagued by “demons” that told him he would never be good enough—he would never be holy enough. He was able to leave those labels behind when he realized he was a baptized child of God. He would literally shout at the devil, “Be gone Satan! I am a baptized child of God!”
WE ALL CARRY FAMILY ROLES – OR WE EXPECT FAMILY MEMBERS TO STAY IN THEIR ROLES. WE HAVE TO LET THAT GO AND SET THEM FREE FROM OUR EXPECTATIONS.
Jesus isn’t looking for the sin, he’s looking to touch us and transform us.
Jesus calls us also to be new creations—to leave behind those labels and identities hold us back. What label are you cloaked in that you would like to leave behind? Think for a moment. Imagine Jesus standing before you asking what old label—what old cloak do you want to take off and leave behind that doesn’t serve you well anymore? Give that to Jesus and let him lay it at the well. Because it is here that we get our true identity—the only one that really matters—baptized child of God! Called by grace into the house of the King, that the Glory of God may be displayed thru us.
Thanks be to God!!!!
John 9: 1- 41 The Man Born Blind
“Believing is Seeing”
Along the side of a market square in Galilee sits a blind man. He sits in this same spot everyday of every week. He has sat here every day for years. This is his place. This is his turf. He knows all the sounds and the smells of this place. He knows all the surrounding shop keepers and they know him. He knows each person by the sound of their footsteps and the sound of their voice. He sits here day in and day out begging for coins—begging for his daily bread.
This man has been blind since birth. He has never seen anything. He feels the warmth of the sun but he has never seen the yellow orb in the sky. He hears the leaves rustling in the wind but he has never seen the majestic green of the trees. He hears people’s voices but has no idea each has a different face. The very word ‘Eyesight’ means nothing to him. He has no idea what seeing is like. All he knows is that it does seem useful to keep people from bumping into things that he stumbles over.
So he sits begging every day. He sits wrapped in his beggar’s cloak and spread part of it on the ground in front of him and places his beggar’s bowl on it. Some people are kind and generous, others make sport of him and his lack of sight. They throw their coins on his cloak or on the ground in front of him just so they can have a little entertainment and a laugh watching as his hands scramble to retrieve the coins he cannot see.
On this day there are new voices in the marketplace—men he hasn’t heard before. He notices them because they are talking about him. They talk about him as if he isn’t even there. They must think that because a person can’t see that must mean he can’t hear either!
Maybe you’ve had this same experience. It happens most often in the hospital. For instance, your doctor comes into your room for morning rounds with a group of student doctors in tow. They gather around your bed and discuss you and your case as if you weren’t even there. They get very clinical while OBSERVING you. While I don’t mind helping student doctors gain experience and knowledge, I’m really uncomfortable with being put under a microscope and inspected like some kind of curiosity. I feel they forget I’m a human being!
That’s what seems to be happening here. The disciples put this blind man under a spiritual microscope like some kind of specimen, to find out what makes his soul tick. They want to analyze his situation instead of engaging him and talking to him with compassion as a human being. They’d rather study him from a distance rather than getting up close and personal with him—finding out what life has been like for him—getting to know him—asking what they can do to help.
Instead they ask a theological, philosophical, analytical question. (which kind of keeps them at a distance from him instead of up close and personal) They ask Jesus to enlighten them as to the reason for this man’s blindness. They assume someone’s sin has caused this to happen. So they ask Jesus, who sinned? The man himself, or his parents?
Aren’t we a lot like the disciples? We also can be afraid to get too close to those who are blind or homeless or less fortunate in some way. We too want to know why things are the way they are. We want to know why people are poor. We want to analyze why people are homeless. We want to study the causes of hunger. We would rather keep a safe distance and examine the situation. Jesus counsels us to be compassionate rather than analytical. He simply tells us to get in there and “Feed the hungry”, don’t study them. “Shelter the homeless”, don’t analyze them. “Visit the sick”, don’t just try to figure our how they got that way. Work from your heart, not just your head.
Jesus won’t let them get away with keeping their distance and staying in their heads. With the eyes of his heart, Jesus doesn’t see an interesting case study, he sees a human being, a precious person loved by his Father. This is to become a lesson in compassion, not philosophy.
So, to begin this lesson, Jesus makes mud and puts it on the man’s eyes. Here Jesus shows himself to be a chip off the Old Divine Block—like heavenly Father, like Holy Son—in the beginning, the heavenly Father made mud from the dust of the newly formed earth and created a man with it. This man born without eyes is an unfinished creation. So Jesus, who is the Living Water, spits on the ground, makes mud with his saliva—his living water—and the dust of the earth, and with it he creates eyes for this man, making him a completed creation—he becomes finished and Whole.
Jesus takes this Holy Mud he has made and anoints the blind man’s eyes with it. Thru-out the Bible, anointing is a very important action. When a person is anointed it usually means they are called by God. They are set aside—chosen—for some very special purpose. God directed Samuel to anoint Jesse’s youngest son, David, calling him out as Israel’s next king. And the moment Samuel anointed David, the scripture tells us that the Spirit of God came upon David.
So likewise, this blind man is anointed—called by God for his purposes. And just what is that purpose. Jesus simple says, “the man is blind so that God’s glory, grace and mercy might be revealed.” He is blind so that thru him, God’s compassion and love might shine thru him for all to see.
You know why compassion is difficult—because it’s an intimate thing. You have to go to someone, speak with them, touch them, hear them. And in order to do that, we have to make ourselves a little vulnerable too. And that is uncomfortable. Sometimes we feel helpless when we visit the sick or the homebound. We feel useless when we can’t do something for them. But just being there is a gift in itself. It’s called the ministry of presence and it’s an amazing gift we give when we just show up and be with someone.
When we analyze the problems of the world, we feel more in control because we can understand what’s going on. And while addressing the underlying causes of hunger or homelessness is important, it is even more important to give the gift of one-on-one compassion to our brothers and sisters—to touch them and let them touch us.
Next, Jesus tells the blind man to Go wash in the pool of Siloam. And so he stands up, leaving his beggars bowl and blanket behind, and is led to the Pool of Siloam. And as he washes, eyesight is given to him. He opens his eyes and sees the world for the very first time. Can you imagine what an amazing and emotional moment that must have been? WOMAN WHO REGAINED HER HEARING FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Our blind man opens his eyes and his whole life is transformed! The glory of God can be seen shining in his newly opened eyes. And life will never be the same. He leaves behind his begging bowl and his old worn-out beggars cloak. He doesn’t need them anymore. He, in fact leaves behind his old way of life. He leaves behind his old identity. His encounter with Jesus has enables him to leave behind old labels that had been put upon him—he can no longer be called a blind man. He is no longer a beggar. He leaves behind his old life. His new identity is Beloved child of God.
You know, like the blind man, we too are incomplete. All of us have our flaws and our blind spots. And God isn’t finished creating us yet either. Have you ever thought that maybe God uses your very flaws and imperfections to show his glory and grace to the world? What an awesome and humbling thought! If we really believed that God’s glory shines thru our imperfections, we would see each other in a whole new light. We would look at people in wheelchairs differently. We would revere the mentally challenged as Holy people. We would see the blind and the lame as our teachers and sit at their feet for our lessons.
And don’t we all carry around labels that try to define us? Labels like—not good enough—not smart enough—blue collar—labels like ‘diabetic’ or ‘asthmatic’—we are not a disease we are a human being! We wear all kinds of identities like that beggar’s blanket. Maybe we were called the teacher’s pet, or goody two-shoes, or the black sheep. Sometimes even noble sounding labels can weigh us down too— the bread-winner, strong shoulders, the care-taker.
Martin Luther used to be plagued by “demons” that told him he would never be good enough—he would never be holy enough. He was able to leave those labels behind when he realized he was a baptized child of God. He would literally shout at the devil, “Be gone Satan! I am a baptized child of God!”
WE ALL CARRY FAMILY ROLES – OR WE EXPECT FAMILY MEMBERS TO STAY IN THEIR ROLES. WE HAVE TO LET THAT GO AND SET THEM FREE FROM OUR EXPECTATIONS.
Jesus isn’t looking for the sin, he’s looking to touch us and transform us.
Jesus calls us also to be new creations—to leave behind those labels and identities hold us back. What label are you cloaked in that you would like to leave behind? Think for a moment. Imagine Jesus standing before you asking what old label—what old cloak do you want to take off and leave behind that doesn’t serve you well anymore? Give that to Jesus and let him lay it at the well. Because it is here that we get our true identity—the only one that really matters—baptized child of God! Called by grace into the house of the King, that the Glory of God may be displayed thru us.
Thanks be to God!!!!
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