The 4th Sunday in Lent – March 22

This gospel reading of the Man Born Blind has been used since early days of the church to help those preparing for baptism understand the process of enlightenment they are going through. In this story, the blind man progresses from the restoration of his physical sight to a deeper enlightenment about God until he is able to recognize Jesus as his Redeemer.

The first reading takes us to the point in the history of salvation when David is chosen by God as king. As is so often the case with the outstanding heroes of the faith, God’s choice is not apparent to those who evaluate by human standards. David’s anointing is an image of our own baptism in which God chose us and set us apart not for our own merits but because God loves us.

The second reading describes how those who have been baptized and now live in the light will carry on their lives. The final verse may be an ancient Christian baptismal hymn.

We, like the man born blind, are now awake and filled with the Light from Light through our baptism. As we continue in our Lenten pilgrimage toward Easter, enlightened by God’s Word and nourished by the sacraments, we find ourselves in the company of a great family of believers. Let us continue to pray for those preparing to be enlightened and anointed in baptism by the Holy Spirit at Easter.

from The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.

What did I hear? What got my attention?
     What one word or phrase or image stands out to me? 
Why did I hear what I heard?
What is going on in my life that might have focused my awareness?
How is God (Life, Truth, Wholeness, etc.) present in my awareness?
     You may share your responses in the Comments section below.

The First Reading                                                                                                                 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Reader                A reading from the book of First Samuel.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to grieve over Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and get going. I’m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have found my next king among his sons.”

“How can I do that?” Samuel asked. “When Saul hears of it he’ll kill me!”

“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say, ‘I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make clear to you what you should do. You will anoint for me the person I point out to you.”

Samuel did what the Lord instructed. When he came to Bethlehem, the city elders came to meet him. They were shaking with fear. “Do you come in peace?” they asked.

“Yes,” Samuel answered. “I’ve come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Now make yourselves holy, then come with me to the sacrifice.” Samuel made Jesse and his sons holy and invited them to the sacrifice as well.

When they arrived, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, That must be the Lord’s anointed right in front.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart.”

Next Jesse called for Abinadab, who presented himself to Samuel, but he said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.” So Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “No, the Lord hasn’t chosen this one.” Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t picked any of these.” Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Is that all of your boys?”

“There is still the youngest one,” Jesse answered, “but he’s out keeping the sheep.”

“Send for him,” Samuel told Jesse, “because we can’t proceed until he gets here.”

So Jesse sent and brought him in. He was reddish brown, had beautiful eyes, and was good-looking. The Lord said, “That’s the one. Go anoint him.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him right there in front of his brothers. The Lord’s spirit came over David from that point forward.

Then Samuel left and went to Ramah.

Reader                Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.

All                    Thanks be to God.

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 All              Psalm 23

1  O God, you are my shepherd; *

I shall not be in want.

2  You make me lie down in green pastures *

and lead me beside still waters.

3  You revive my soul *

and guide me along right pathways for your 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 your house for ever.

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The Second Reading                                                                                                            Ephesians 5:8-14

Reader                A Reading from the letter to the Ephesians.

You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as children of light. Light produces fruit that consists of every sort of goodness, justice, and truth. Therefore, test everything to see what’s pleasing to the Lord, and don’t participate in the unfruitful actions of darkness. Instead, you should reveal the truth about them. It’s embarrassing to even talk about what certain persons do in secret. But everything exposed to the light is revealed by the light. Everything that is revealed by the light is light. Therefore, it says, Wake up, sleeper! Get up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

Reader                Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.

All                    Thanks be to God

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 The Holy Gospel                                                                                                                               John 9:1-41

Deacon               The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

All                    Glory be to thee, O Lord.

As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who was blind from birth. Jesus’ disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned so that he was born blind, this man or his parents?”

Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents. This happened so that God’s mighty works might be displayed in him. While it’s daytime, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After he said this, he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smeared the mud on the man’s eyes. Jesus said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (this word means sent). So the man went away and washed. When he returned, he could see.

The man’s neighbors and those who used to see him when he was a beggar said, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

Some said, “It is,” and others said, “No, it’s someone who looks like him.”

But the man said, “Yes, it’s me!”

So they asked him, “How are you now able to see?”

He answered, “The man they call Jesus made mud, smeared it on my eyes, and said, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

They asked, “Where is this man?”

He replied, “I don’t know.”

Then they led the man who had been born blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus made the mud and smeared it on the man’s eyes on a Sabbath day. So Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.

The man told them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and now I see.”

Some Pharisees said, “This man isn’t from God, because he breaks the Sabbath law.” Others said, “How can a sinner do miraculous signs like these?” So they were divided. Some of the Pharisees questioned the man who had been born blind again: “What do you have to say about him, since he healed your eyes?”

He replied, “He’s a prophet.”

The Jewish leaders didn’t believe the man had been blind and received his sight until they called for his parents. The Jewish leaders asked them, “Is this your son? Are you saying he was born blind? How can he now see?”

His parents answered, “We know he is our son. We know he was born blind. But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who healed his eyes. Ask him. He’s old enough to speak for himself.” His parents said this because they feared the Jewish authorities. This is because the Jewish authorities had already decided that whoever confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be expelled from the synagogue. That’s why his parents said, “He’s old enough. Ask him.”

Therefore, they called a second time for the man who had been born blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know this man is a sinner.”

The man answered, “I don’t know whether he’s a sinner. Here’s what I do know: I was blind and now I see.”

They questioned him: “What did he do to you? How did he heal your eyes?”

He replied, “I already told you, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

They insulted him: “You are his disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man is from.”

The man answered, “This is incredible! You don’t know where he is from, yet he healed my eyes! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. God listens to anyone who is devout and does God’s will. No one has ever heard of a healing of the eyes of someone born blind. If this man wasn’t from God, he couldn’t do this.”

They responded, “You were born completely in sin! How is it that you dare to teach us?” Then they expelled him.

Jesus heard they had expelled the man born blind. Finding him, Jesus said, “Do you believe in the Human One?”

He answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”

Jesus said, “You have seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

The man said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped Jesus.

Jesus said, “I have come into the world to exercise judgment so that those who don’t see can see and those who see will become blind.”

Some Pharisees who were with him heard what he said and asked, “Surely we aren’t blind, are we?”

Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t have any sin, but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Deacon               The Gospel of the Lord.

All                    Praise be to thee, O Christ.

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The Sermon – The Rev. Sam Loundenslager

Sermon the Fourth Sunday in Lent

For Audio click HERE.

            Last weekend Terre and I were on the coast in Pass Christian, Mississippi.  It was weird just like I’m sure it was here. People were on a buying frenzy at the grocery.  One of the things in big demand there was bottled water because you don’t want to drink the water down there unless it’s been filtered.  So water was in demand along with those things that were and still are in demand here.  Terre was anxious so we didn’t go out for most of the weekend.  Friday the 13^th I texted Ed that I guess I wasn’t preaching.  He called me almost immediately and told me about the plans for last Sunday’s service.  I have to say that I’m glad I was scheduled to preach today because it gave me something to focus on other than the news about the spread of Covid-19.  It’s been a weird two weeks and it’s starting to feel like this world is undergoing some sort of new normal.  But in the back of my mind, I keep asking myself what next?  Which seems like to good place to start the sermon.

            So the gospel this morning begins with Jesus’ initial healing of a man born blind.  It’s very long and has always felt somewhat like theatre.  But nothing in this play really plays out the way we might expect.  No one was happy for the changes that the man had experienced.  No one rejoices. No one asks “what’s it like for you to see”? No, instead we see the healed man being interrogated.  We see that people don’t believe him.  People didn’t trust him and finally people expelled him from the community.  Although I doubt he was every really seen as part of the community. But through all of these experiences the man who had been born blind seems to become more self-assured, more knowledgeable about who he is.

            Jesus didn’t tell the man born blind that being able to see would make life any easier.  Our gospel this morning begins simply.  “As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who was blind from birth.”   Notice that the disciples moved quickly from the blind man to questions about sin?  Jesus responds by really ignoring the question and healing the man who was blind from birth.  Rather than address the need, the disciples ask questions.  Pretty common approach isn’t it when we are face to face with someone or a situation that needs our attention even though we’d just as soon walk away. 

            Jesus doesn’t get caught up in the questions but focuses on the man born blind.  This passage begins and ends this way. At the end, Jesus hears that the man he had healed had been expelled and he searches him out.  Other than Jesus and the man born blind, people don’t ask “what is it like to see?” or “how will you make a living now?”  Instead they want to focus on the “how”.  “How can you see?” which was asked at least four times. The questioners ask really silly questions about the healing but never thought to ask the question “what next”.  Jesus is in what next mode both times that he appears in this passage.

            While the issues of seeing and not seeing and light and dark are part of today’s gospel, I am struck again that Jesus is present to his surroundings and sees the human need in front of him.  This is something that I’ve been much more aware of over the last couple of years.  Not so much the acts of healing or conversion but the simple act of seeing who is around him.  This may be what is meant when Jesus refers to himself as coming into the world so that those who don’t see can see.  What next mode is an ongoing state for Jesus.

            What next is also the same question for us to ask ourselves?  We are certainly called to those things, people and situations that we are blind to, those that are important, as well as to develop blindness to those things or situations that aren’t important after all. Maybe the changes introduced to us by Covid-19 are providing us with an opportunity to see Christ in everyone and everything a little better and with more clarity.  Our gospel is certainly a reminder to see, really see, those next to us.  Really see those people and needs that we are either blind to or turn away from.  With Covid-19, a virus that has reminded us that anyone can get sick for little reason at all.  A virus that has made us rethink what we had convinced ourselves that we actually know.  It certainly has made me reorder and refocus on what?  On people!  The people I work with, my family, people who are providing health care, those who worked at businesses until this week, and those I walk by at the grocery or anywhere else. 

Our gospel this morning sheds light on what it means to “see” others as they are; really are.  At the end of the passage we are told that the man born blind believes that Jesus is the Human One and the man who sees is now the one that sees who Jesus really is.  He’s one of the few that come to recognize Jesus before the resurrection.  May we see Jesus in the trying days ahead and ask “what next”? We will certainly have opportunities.

Let us pray,

O God, your unfailing providence sustains the world we live in and the life we live. Grant that we may never forget that our common life depends upon each other, through Christ our Saviour.

Amen.

What did I hear? What got my attention?
     What one word or phrase or image stands out to me? 
Why did I hear what I heard?
What is going on in my life that might have focused my awareness?
How is God (Life, Truth, Wholeness, etc.) present in my awareness?
     You may share your responses in the Comments section below.