How do we adjust our eyes to the brightness of Jesus and the Gospel ?
Year A • The Fourth Sunday of Lent
1
Samuel 16:1–13 • Psalm 23 • Ephesians 5:8–14 • John 9:1–41
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Sermon available on YouTube by clicking here,
as an Audio File by clicking here, Coming S.
and as a PDF by clicking here.
The Sermon
Come, Holy Spirit, and kindle the fire that is in us.
Take our lips and speak through them.
Take our lips and speak through them.
Take our hearts and see through them.
Take our souls and set them on fire. Amen.
Blinded by the
Light
I grew up on a family farm in Woodward, Oklahoma, which is
a small town located in the northwest corner of the state. As you might expect,
we had to get up really early to get our chores done, especially on school days,
because the bus picked us up around 7:00 o’clock. For me, there were chickens and
rabbits to be fed and watered, and breakfast to be eaten. In the winters, chores
took longer because warm water from the house had to be hauled out to the
animals, since we couldn’t use the outside faucets for fear of them freezing. I
remember many a morning loading up a wagon with six or seven jugs of warm water,
and dragging the wagon through the snow to the chicken coup.
Needless to say, none of this was particularly fun
or easy. But my Dad was really great. He did what he could to make all of this
as painless as possible. For example, when he got me up in the morning, he
would come in quietly with a candle, sit down on my bed, and softly say, “Hey
Son, it’s time to get up.” And I would wake up slowly.. It was wonderful.
Or rather, it would have been wonderful had it
actually happened that way. But it didn’t; not even close. Instead, Dad would
throw open my bedroom door at 5:30, flip on the overhead lights, and say in a
rather loud voice, “Get up you lazy bum.”
I think this was Dad’s idea of a joke. You know,
anybody who could still be in bed as late as 5:30 must be sleeping in. The
problem is, I never quite found the humor in this little morning routine. This
had to be one of the worse ways to wake up, this being blinded by the light.
Light is Not
Always Welcome
I tell this story to make a point. Light is not always
welcome. Light is not always perceived as a blessing. In today’s gospel
reading, Jesus proclaims himself to be The Light of the world, and he demonstrates
his claim by healing a blind man. Pretty amazing stuff. Pretty wonderful, isn’t
it? Well, not for everybody. For the blind man, certainly, and for some others.
But not for everyone. Not for the Pharisees and many of the other Jewish
leaders.
Jesus of Nazareth is The Light of the world, and he
was sent by God to bring the light of life to a world groping about in the
darkness of death—the darkness of sin and violence, the darkness of hatred and
injustice. But not everyone was eager for the Light. Having grown accustomed to
the darkness, some had a hard time adjusting their eyes to brightness of the
gospel. This is what we see dramatically played out in today’s reading.
But from the very beginning of his gospel, John
has prepared his readers for those who would resist the coming of the Light. In
the prologue, John writes:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.… [I]n him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.... He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God (John 1:1, 4–5, 11–12).
The Light came into the world that had been created
through him. He came to those who owed their very existence to him. Yet they
did not recognize him; they did not acknowledge or welcome him (1:11). There is a bit of a
mystery there.
Later, Jesus talks with Nicodemus about the
polarizing effect that his coming will have. He speaks first of God’s love for
the world, of God’s desire to rescue and restore all humanity, but then he
offers this candid assessment of the world’s response to the light.
This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God (John 3:19–21).
So again, Light is not always welcomed. Though the Light came
to bring life to the world God loves, not everyone perceived it as a blessing. The
Light pierces the night of our brokenness and our estrangement from God. And
while some are drawn to the Light like a moth to the flame, others flee in fear,
hiding themselves in the shadows.
The Light is not going to win everyone over, at
least not initially. In this way, John prepares us for the mixed response that
Jesus’ words and actions will evoke. So, readers of John are not particularly
surprised by the Pharisees’ negative response to Jesus’ healing of the blind
man.
Rejecting the
Light
Of course, Jesus doesn’t seem to be particularly interested
in winning any popularity contests. He certainly hasn’t gone out of his way to
endear himself to the Jewish leadership. Prior to today’s healing, he has
criticized their running of the temple, he has healed on the Sabbath, and he
has said things like, “You are not from God” (8:47b), “You are from your father the devil, and you
choose to do your father’s desires” (8:47b). So, it is little wonder that, by the time we arrive at today’s
episode, many leaders are ready to do away with Jesus, this false prophet from
backwater Galilee, who is deceiving the people with his signs and wonders.
And nothing Jesus does today changes their opinion
of him. In fact, his healing of the blind man only serves to reinforce their view
that he is a sinner and a false prophet. But why? After all, Jesus heals a
blind man, and not just any blind man, but a man who has been blind from birth,
a man who has never seen anything. Jesus does not simply restore this man’s sight, he gives
him sight. He truly is The Light of the World. As the man himself so eloquently
testifies,
We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing (John 9:31–33).
The Pharisees and the Sabbath
And yet, the Pharisees maintain that Jesus is a sinner. Why?
Because he healed the man on the Sabbath. But why should that matter? Well, I
wish we had time to explore this in greater detail because, as I have said on
numerous occasions, if we do not understand why Jesus’ opponents were so violently
opposed to him, if we simply dismiss them as petty or legalistic, then we miss
something of who Jesus is and what it means to follow him. Moreover, in
dismissing the Pharisees, we are in danger of overlooking how we might be like
them.
So let me say this. For the Pharisees, as well was
for most first-century Jews, the keeping of Sabbath was a very serious matter.
Not only had it been commanded by God—it is after all one of the Ten
Commandments—but it was also a key marker of Jewish identity, which was
especially important for a people who had been living under foreign occupation
for the better part of five hundred years. In fact, along with circumcision,
kosher food laws, and the reading of Torah, Sabbath keeping was one of the practices
that had sustained the Jews during their exile in Babylon. Moreover, in 167 b.c., these pillars of Jewish identity
were all outlawed by their pagan overlord, Antiochus Epiphanes. And rather than forsake those things that God
had commanded them, the Jews fought back,
and many died.
So, when Jesus comes along healing on the Sabbath,
it causes great offense. In part, because he seems to be showing contempt for
Jewish identity; he seems to be dishonoring the memory of those who had given
up their lives rather than break the Sabbath. And so, I would argue, that the
offense Jesus generated by healing on the Sabbath is comparable to the offense
that is triggered when somebody today burns the American flag.
Moreover, healing on the Sabbath seems to count against Jesus being from God. Because as
everybody knows, God himself rested on the Sabbath after the six days of
creation. How can Jesus claim to be performing the work of God, when God
himself doesn’t work on the Sabbath? Listen to the response a Jewish leader
makes in Luke’s gospel when Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath. “The leader of
the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to
the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those
days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day’” (Luke 13:14).
That’s such a great line: “There are six days on
which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the
sabbath day.” It offers such insight into the mindset of the Pharisees. It
helps us gain an appreciation for how someone could look at a miraculous
healing of a blind man—regardless of the day on which it occurred—and conclude
that it was anything other than the work of God, that it was anything other
than a sign that this Jesus was in fact The Light of the World, sent by God, to
reflect the very glory and grace of God.
Adjusting Our
Eyes to the Light of Christ
I belabor this point because
I don’t think that the Pharisees are unique or exceptional in their blindness.
I see evidence of their blindness in myself, in our American society, and even
in the Church. And this raises some questions.
Are there things that we value—not just as
individuals, but as communities, as a nation and a society—are there things
that we value that blind us to who Jesus is? Are there things, dark things,
that we have grown accustomed to, things that we have come to rely upon in
order to maintain our identity and our way of life, things that define us which
are contrary to God’s vision for the world, things that make us shield our eyes
when the Light of the Gospel reveals them for what they are?
In short, where are our blind spots? It’s a
critical question, and one worthy of serious reflection, especially during this
time of Lent, this season where we are called to “self-examination and repentance;
by [means of] prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on
God’s holy Word” (BCP 264–265).
And when our blindness is revealed, what can we do
about it? After all, blind people cannot heal themselves. That’s one of the
reasons why we flee from the Light in the first place. When the Light shines
into the dark recesses of our lives, we feel naked and exposed. We feel the
guilt of our brokenness and the shame of our past failures, we feel the shame
and guilt of our inability to change and our unwillingness to be changed. We
know that we are blind, and we would just as soon forget it. For if we could
make ourselves see, then we wouldn’t be blind in the first place. So what’s to
be done?
Very simply, we need to come into the Light. Or at
a minimum, we need to resist the temptation to hide when the Light reveals
something in us that is contrary to the Gospel. We need to come into the Light,
and remain there until we grow accustomed to the Light. Sometimes, the Light
blinds us and that can be very painful, but if we remain in the Light, our eyes
will adjust, and we will be able to see.
But how is this done? It begins and ends with acknowledging
that Jesus is indeed the Light of the World. It begins and ends with putting
our trust in Jesus as the one who reveals most fully the grace, truth, and love
of God. Jesus grants us the power to become children of God (John 1:12),
he empowers us to live as children of the Light (Eph 5:8). So it all begins
and ends with him.
Recall that Jesus did not simply give the blind man
physical sight, he returned later and granted him spiritual sight, which began
with trust.
Jesus said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him (John 9:35–38).
Now, I should add, that putting our trust in Jesus
is not a one-time affair. It is an ongoing process, a daily process of
acknowledging who Jesus is, of believing in him and worshipping him. It is a relationship of increasing dependence
& reliance upon him.
Moreover, this trust will grow and mature as we develop
the habit of bringing things into the Light, as we develop a habit of
acknowledging our blindness and our resistance to change and offering these
things up to Jesus.
We do this in prayer, we do this in worship, and
above all we do this in community. So I invite you to come into the loving,
life-filled Light of Christ, again and again and again. At times, you may find
yourselves blinded by the Light, but resist the temptation to throw the covers
over your head. Just remain in the Light, and listen to the voice of your
heavenly Father who says very gently, “Wake up Daughter; Wake up Son; it’s time
to get up.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Delivered on Sunday, March 30th, a.d. 2014
at St. John's Episcopal Church (Wichita, Kansas)
The Scriptures
Year A • The Fourth
Sunday after Lent
1
Samuel 16:1–13
Psalm
23
Ephesians
5:8–14
John
9:1–41
Other Relevant Texts
John 1:1–18
• John 3:16–21 • John 8:12 • John 12:30-50
The Collect
Gracious Father, whose
blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread
which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in
us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.
1 The
Lord said to Samuel, “How long
will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel.
Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite,
for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 Samuel
said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and
say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do;
and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” 4 Samuel
did what the Lord commanded, and
came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said,
“Do you come peaceably?” 5 He said, “Peaceably; I have come to
sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify
yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his
sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When
they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” 7 But the Lord
said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature,
because I have rejected him; for the Lord
does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8
Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither
has the Lord chosen this one.”
9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The
Lord has not chosen any of these.”
11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There
remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to
Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes,
and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise
and anoint him; for this is the one.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn
of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the
Lord came mightily upon David from
that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
Psalm 23 • Dominus regit me • BCP 612
1 The Lord
is my shepherd; *
I shall
not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and
leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul *
and
guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; *
for you
are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You spread a table before me in the
presence of those who trouble me; *
you have
anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life, *
and I
will dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever.
Ephesians 5:8–14
8 For once you were darkness, but now in the
Lord you are light. Live as children of light-- 9 for the fruit of
the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10 Try to
find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the
unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is
shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; 13 but
everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything
that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from
the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
John 9:1–41
1 As he walked along, he saw a man blind
from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man
or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither
this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be
revealed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while
it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am
in the world, I am the light of the world.” 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, 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. 8
The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is
this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some were saying, “It
is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I
am the man.” 10 But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes
opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it
on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and
received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I
do not know.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees
the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a sabbath day
when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees
also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put
mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the
Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.”
But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they
were divided. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you
say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jews did not believe that
he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of
the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your
son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His
parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
21 but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who
opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had
already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put
out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age;
ask him.”
24 So for the second time they
called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We
know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “I do not know
whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I
see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open
your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you
would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become
his disciples?” 28 Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his
disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has
spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where
he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does
not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his
will. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone
opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from
God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born
entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.
35 Jesus heard
that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe
in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so
that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen
him, and the one speaking with you is he.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe.”
And he worshiped him. 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.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him,
“Surely we are not blind, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you
were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin
remains.”
Other Relevant Texts
John 1:1–18
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning
with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him
not one thing came into being, [which] has come into being. 4 [I]n
him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the
light, but he came to testify to the light.
9 The true light, which enlightens
everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the
world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11
He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become
children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of
the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and
lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only
son, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried
out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me
because he was before me.’”) 16 From his fullness we have all
received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through
Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever
seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has
made him known.
John 3:16–21
16 ”For God so loved the world that he
gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may
have eternal life. 17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through
him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do
not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name
of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light
has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because
their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do
not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21
But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen
that their deeds have been done in God.”
John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light
of life.”
John 12:30-50
30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for
your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now
the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am
lifted up from the earth, will draw all people1 to myself.” 33
He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. 34 The
crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah1 remains
forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son
of Man?” 35 Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little
longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake
you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going.
36 While you have the light,
believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” After Jesus
had said this, he departed and hid from them. 37 Although he had
performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. 38
This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Lord, who has
believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39
And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said, 40 “He has
blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with
their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn -- and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said this because1 he saw his glory and spoke
about him. 42 Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed
in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that
they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human
glory more than the glory that comes from God.
44 Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever
believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And
whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come as light into
the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the
darkness. 47 I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not
keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48
The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last
day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, 49 for I have
not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a
commandment about what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that
his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the
Father has told me.”
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