20170326 Who is Blind
Based on Ephesians 5:8-14 and John 9:1-41
Delivered on March 26, 2017 at CCH
Ephesians 5:8-14
5:8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are
light. Live as children of light-
5:9 for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good
and right and true.
5:10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.
5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but
instead expose them.
5:12 For it is shameful even to mention what such people do
secretly;
5:13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
5:14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore
it says, "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on
you."
Good morning. Happy
Fourth Sunday in Lent. I am Darci Strutt
McQuiston, a Lay Speaker with the United Methodist Church up on the hill. I’ve missed you! I’m glad the illnesses are passed and the quarantine
lifted!
I’m pulling from two different scripture passages for
today. I’ve read Ephesians already. The second scripture is from the Gospel of
John 9:1-41. Since 41 verses is a bit
long I’m going to read parts and paraphrase part. It is the story of Jesus healing the man born
blind.
9:1 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.
9:2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this
man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
9:3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents
sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.
9:4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is
day; night is coming when no one can work.
9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the
world."
9:6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud
with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes,
9:7 saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam"
(which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.
Here’s the paraphrased part.
His neighbors argue about whether he was the same man that was blind,
and ask him to explain how he is now able to see. The Pharisee ask him how his sight was
restored and then argue about whether he was the same man that was born blind. They bring his parents in to verify he really
was their son that was born blind. They
state he is their son that was born blind, but leave the rest of the
conversation to their son because they are afraid of being kicked out of the synagogue. Now that his identity is confirmed the
Pharisee ask him again to explain how his sight was restored. The man is frustrated by this time and says,
"I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I
was blind, now I see." After a bit
more arguing they drive him out of the synagogue. Now back to the scripture.
9:35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he
found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
9:36 He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that
I may believe in him."
9:37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one
speaking with you is he."
9:38 He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped
him.
9:39 Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so
that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."
9:40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to
him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"
9:41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would
not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.
The three ideas I want to pull from these lessons are:
Examine how you see
Attempt to wake up
Become light
Examine how you see
The story of the man blind from birth has a few aspects on
how things are seen. The Disciples
assumption that the blindness was the result of sin. They were accustomed to physical malady being
the result of something you had done or your parents had done. Jesus turned that idea around. Nobody had sinned, but this was an
opportunity for God’s work to be revealed.
God’s hand was not only present in the man’s healing of sight. It was also present in his recognizing Jesus
as a prophet and becoming a follower.
His life was healed.
The neighbors and Pharisee had seen the man for years, yet
only identified with his blindness. No
doubt some had helped him cross the street or enter the synagogue, yet when his
eyes were restored they didn’t recognize him.
That tells me they didn’t see past his disability.
The Pharisee focused on the laws broken when Jesus healed on
the Sabaoth instead of the miracle of sight restored. The man’s parents felt fear of being kicked
out of the synagogue more than joy at their son’s healing. I sense that they had been relieved he was of
age and wasn’t a continued burden on them.
We all interpret life through our past experiences. The Pharisee were people of the law so that’s
what their lens was. The parents of the
man cared about their place in the community so fear was their focus instead of
joy for their son. We too see life
through our own perceptions. That’s how
our brains work. These examples of
scripture caution us to seek to see God’s view over our own.
Attempt to wake up and see
Jesus speaks these words to the Pharisees toward the end of
the reading from John.
9:39 Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so
that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."
9:40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to
him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"
9:41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would
not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.
The Pharisees were asleep to the truth. They clung to the truth they knew, but didn’t
know what they didn’t know. As 1 Cor
13:12 says, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see
face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully
known.”
I think that is what the verse from Ephesians was getting
at. 5:14b Therefore it says,
"Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
We are dreaming, and much of the time it is a nightmare. When we become children of the light we will
see how God sees. Fear is not in God’s
kingdom.
Become light
Our passage from Ephesians begins: 5:8 “For once you were
darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.”
We are light. Not just a
reflection. We are called to shine.
A common phrase for someone recognizing something they were
doing wrong and changing behavior was that they have “seen the light.” When someone helps with understanding an
issue we sometimes say he “shed some light on the issue.”
Ephesians 5:11 advises us, “Take no part in the unfruitful
works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
I don’t feel that call is to humiliate those in the middle of unhealthy behavior,
but rather it is to help them see the behavior is unhealthy themselves and
repent. We are each children of God. If I was out of the house and one of my
younger children was getting into trouble, I’d want the more mature ones to
step in and show them their error to prevent them from harm. We are asked to save lost sheep, not point
and blame while the darkness overtakes them.
Verse 9:5 of John’s reading says: “As long as I am in the
world, I am the light of the world."
As we continue our journey through these forty days of lent we know the
time will come when Jesus is no longer in the world physically. His sacrifice gave us the privilege and
responsibility to share in his work as children of light.
As we end our time together I want to express a few things.
These tasks are not easy.
I don’t claim to have the vision of God, but this reminds me to work on
looking at situations with the understanding that I need to be open for the
leading of the Holy Spirit to help me see more clearly. The “blindness” of the Pharisee was that they
felt they already knew it all. Humility
is a requirement for being able to examine how you see, because it allows you
to perceive when you are wrong and accept a different view.
I don’t claim to be awakened, or enlightened, so I cannot lead
you there myself. These words of
scripture advise us to continue working toward those two states. Romans echoes this advice; 13:11-12 “Do this,
knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for
now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone,
and the day is near Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on
the armor of light.”
I smile at the command to be light because scientist Carl
Sagan pointed out our bodies are made from the elements found in stars. He said, “We are star stuff.” All organic matter containing carbon was
produced originally in stars. Stars are
burning within their core. We are called
to invite the flame of the Holy Spirit to set our hearts on fire. That flame is the light of love.
As we continue our path toward the cross on Good Friday, and
its darkness, I hope this message will remind you it is our calling to be the
light Christ displayed. Shine on.
Amen
