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Rez is a community where Jesus welcomes, shapes, and sends disciples for the good of our neighborhood. No matter where you are in life, this is a place for you.
Life Together In The Goodness Of God
Now usually I start a sermon with some little pithy anecdote, some story, some quote that I've been pondering, but not today. Today I just want to dive into what is before us, from the Gospel of John. So this week we get another of the longest Gospel readings that we will ever hear in the church. I think those who put the lectionary together really wanted us to feel that lit and struggle. Last week we heard the whole conversation with Jesus and the Samaritan woman, a woman who appears to be an outcast in her community because of the number of husbands she has. And the current man she is living with, it's not her husband. And that reading paired nicely with the story of Matthew, the story from Matthew rather, of Jesus and another woman at a well in which she argues that even those who are undeserving are granted God's grace. That Matthew story was the basis of our Lenten series on holy resistance last week. And though this week we do not get a woman playing a significant role, what we do get is someone is someone whom society has cast out as undeserving, as sinful, as unworthy, as like us. Someone who helps Jesus reveal the nature of God's kingdom. So let's dive into the entirety of John chapter 9. So we start with the disciples and Jesus encountering a blind man and the disciples basically asking Jesus, why is this man blind? Did he sin or did his parents sin? So Jesus answers them in a way that I think is often overlooked by people even today. That God is revealed in those who are born with some kind of perceived otherness. What Jesus points out here is that this man was born blind so that God's kingdom and power can be revealed through him. Jesus then spits on the ground, makes mud out of his spit and dirt, which is dirt, which is ill, and then spreads it on the blind man's eyes to restore his sight. Now when others saw the formerly blind man, they didn't believe it was him and said it was someone like him. They were blinded to the fact that the son of man, that Jesus could restore sight to the blind. But the man insisted, I am he, I am the one you know as a beggar. And when questioned by the crowd about who could have done this, the man does give the honest answer. He says he doesn't know. So being the good Jews that these people were, it took the man to the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees, the keepers of the law. The Pharisees asked him to recount how he regained his sight, and the formerly blind man told them what happened. We are told some of the Pharisees balked at this, basically, apparently, because this happened on the Sabbath day, a day in which you are only to worship and pray and rest, and healings are not to happen on the Sabbath day. So clearly a man that would cure on the Sabbath day is not a man of God. Others, though, countered that it is only by God that someone could be healed in this way, be it on the Sabbath or not. So they, the religious leaders, the Pharisees asked the man again, who do you say this person is? And the man answers, a prophet. He's likely referring back to the prophets Elijah and Elisha who were able to heal people through the power of God. And so some of the Pharisees could not believe this man. They thought he was making all of this up, that maybe he wasn't actually born blind. So they called his parents and began to question them over their son's blindness. And his parents affirmed, yes, this is our son. And yes, we know that he was born blind, but as to how he is now able to see, we do not know. But rather you should ask him, he is of age. Basically, his parents were saying, my name is Paul and that's between y'all. So again, some of the Pharisees attest that the person who gave him his sight must be a sinner because he did this on the Sabbath. The formerly blind man responds rather incredulously that he does not know whether the man is a sinner or not. All he knows is that he was blind and now he sees. Some of the Pharisees then get all high and mighty, insisting that the man who restored his sight must be a sinner because of the Sabbath and that the formerly blind man must be one of his disciples and not a disciple of Moses, the bearer of the law. And, and I love this part. This is where the formerly blind man basically goes off, basically telling the Pharisees, questioning him that God does not listen to sinners. And if this man who restored his sight was a sinner, God would not listen. Thus, the man must be a man of God. Well, the Pharisees do not take kindly to that, asking the man, who are you to question us, a classic move by those in power whose authority has been challenged, and they drive him away. Now, this is when Jesus comes back into the story and he goes to the man whose sight has been restored and tells him that the Son of Man is the one who restored his sight. The formerly blind man confesses his allegiance to Jesus and worships him. Like, wow. What a story. Though I will admit, not too loudly, John is not one of my favorite gospels. And I can admit, I have favorites. This story, though, this story just hits. Here you have a man whose sight is restored and is then almost put on trial because he has been healed. And he finally snaps and tells the Pharisees off, all while Jesus uses this man to highlight the kingdom of God. Like, this is high drama at its finest. Game of Thrones has nothing on what's happening here. But what I want to focus on here is what this restoration of sight means. This man's sight... Excuse me. This man's sight being restored is not just a physical restoration, but a spiritual one. You see, in all of Jesus' healings and restorations, the person asking to be restored must first believe that Jesus has the power of God to do so. That is, they must have a spiritual sight that others do not have. When the formerly blind person in our reading today confesses Jesus to be the Son of Man, I think he is saying what he believed, but did not completely understand. He knew that Jesus would not only restore his physical sight, but also open up his spiritual sight, his sight to see God in his midst. And this is where I think God is speaking to us this morning. God is asking us, where do we have spiritual blindness? I can admit, I know that I have spiritual blindness that I pray about and work on. It is hard for me to see those who are Christian nationalists, those who are white supremacists, those kind of for me go hand in hand. It's hard for me to see those who are homophobes, those who wish me harm. It's hard for me to see them as children of God. As our brother Ryan Flanagan recently posted, I was blinded by an ideology that forced us to define ourselves by what we were against more than what we were for. We knew we were in based on who we determined were out. And though I believe he is looking at that from a certain point of view, I can also relate to that because if you don't believe as I believe, then you must be wrong. But here's what God is telling us. In this story of a blind man believed to be blind from his sin and yet has his sight restored, what this is telling us is that we are all children of God. We were all created in God's image and called good at our creation. And though we may not reflect or show it, we are all filled with God's grace and mercy. And we are called to show that grace and mercy to everyone whom we encounter. It can be hard, I know, to see or even recognize the grace and mercy of those who believe or act differently than us. Just look at King David, King David whom God anointed to be the King of Israel who kept God's favor with him throughout his kingship. King David, remember, raped Bathsheba, has her husband killed, and still kept the blessing of God because he repented of his wrongdoings. David repents of his sins, and God's favor stays with him despite David being human. And we all know humans gonna human. Just like David, we are called to be, we are called to spiritual wholeness knowing we are going to fail because God favors those who repent and see the God before them. Like the formerly blind man, God blesses those who see the Jesus at work in front of them, and we are called to see Jesus, the grace and mercy of God, the Holy Spirit, not only in ourselves, but in our fellow humans. Rez, this morning, I encourage you to pray about your spiritual blind spots. Where are those places that you struggle to see God? Who are those people in whom you struggle to see God's grace and mercy? Where has Jesus met you to eliminate some of those blind spots? Where has Jesus met you to open your eyes to the reality of God's kingdom? May your eyes be open to the grace and mercy of God has for you and for all, and may God fill you with the grace and mercy that only comes from the belief in God's only Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.