18th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 151

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thought of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord Jesus Christ
AMEN

Introduction

Blindness is something we all hope we never have to experience – to a person with sight – it conjures up images of helplessness – dependence – frustration – of living in a world of perpetual darkness –

Yet -In our NT lesson Jesus shows us that there is a far greater tragedy that can inflict us – that of spiritual blindness – when we close our eyes to God –

In our reading John tells what happens when Jesus meets and heals a man who has been blind from birth – and as the story unfolds we learn that its not only the man’s sight that is transformed

To help us see what its all about – we are going to look at what happened through the eyes of the those involved –

  

Point 1         The blindness of a man

 

First there’s the blind man – a well known figure – in the street – more than likely – standing – in the same place – every day – begging for food and help – to survive

the disciples probably knew him or knew of him – and when they approached him – on the Sabbath – they took the opportunity to ask Jesus – that inevitable theological question –

“Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Who sinned, – this man or his parents?”

Jewish teaching connected suffering with sin – they believed that the sin of the fathers can be passed on to their children – and even argued that a child could commit a sin while still in its mother’s womb

The disciples were playing the “Blame game” – it must be somebody’s fault – otherwise he wouldn’t be like he is

This type of thinking was – their way of holding on to – some sort of belief in God’s justice – if God is all powerful – all-loving and fair – and – something in the world seemed unfair – then – there must be a reason for it – and one way – of getting – round the problem – was – to think that it must be a sin being punished –

It was of course only comfortable to think this way if the person was – well-off – well fed and – healthy

We often fall into the trap of oversimplifying issues of suffering and healing –

Good things can happen as a result of good actions – and bad things can happen as a result of bad actions – but nothing is inevitable – kindness is sometimes scorned – and drunken drivers – can get away with it –

And – in particular we can’t stretch the point back to a previous life – or someone else’s sins –

being born blind doesn’t mean the person or their family – must have sinned – something much more mysterious and hopeful – is happening

As we see from Jesus’ reply – the chaos and misery – in our world – is – the raw material out of which our loving and wise God – is making His new creation –

“This man was born blind so that God’s power might be displayed in curing him”

God takes full responsibility for the way He has made each one of us – there are no mistakes – we are all perfect in His eyes – and no matter what our circumstances – every persons life is an opportunity to show God’s power at work

A young physically handicapped Christian – when asked why she thought God had let her be born this way quoted verse 3 of our reading – ‘I was born this way so that the work of God might be displayed in my life’ – but the reply came back – ‘the blind man was healed – and it was that that glorified God’ – “Ah well” replied the young girl – “In my case God is glorified even more – because I have not been healed – and yet I love Him all the more”
Whether we are healed or whether we suffer – we are called to proclaim the faithfulness of God – who is alongside – us in Jesus Christ –

Jesus mixes some dirt with His own saliva and rubbed it on the man’s eyes –

“Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” – He said –

and when the man did this – he was able to see –

For the first time is his life – the man was in the light – in front of him – were – colours – shapes – people – it must have felt like the best day of his life –

 

Point 2         The Blindness of mankind

 

Receiving Jesus Christ is like receiving your sight all over again – through the eyes of Jesus everything has a new beginning –

He can heal impossible situations – and He performed more miracles of this kind than any other – He came into the world – ‘so that the blind will see’ – but He also brought a warning to – those who claimed to see – but who behave as if they – were blind to God’s presence –

In our reading from Nehemiah – we are given an example of mankind’s blindness – here the menace is hunger – and exploitation – so much so that the whole community was at risk –

During his major effort to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls – Nehemiah faced a major economic crisis – even though it only took a total of 52 days – he called a large meeting – in the midst of the project – to sort out the difficulties-

He knew that the hidden strains within the community needed to be brought to the surface – to prevent any further deterioration –

The problems were food distribution – sky-high interest rates – heavily mortgaged properties – and exploitation of children – pretty much similar to today –

The only way out – says Nehemiah – is to cancel the debts – and allow the people to start again –

People who are physically blind often have other enhanced senses – like hearing – or smell – or mental abilities – a blind person can often hear someone walking towards them – and they can develop a fantastic memory of where things are – especially in their own homes-

Spiritual blindness – on the other hand – impairs rather than enhances our other senses – and its not obvious to the sufferer or to others – that they are suffering from it – its consequences – are far reaching – both now and at the judgment seat before God –

To some people – like the Pharisees- Jesus is a blind spot – no matter how hard they look and considered the evidence – they can’t acknowledge Him for who He really is – they can’t see what God was doing – right in front of their eyes –

we get so wrapped up in the everyday business of living – that we don’t see what God is doing so well for us – and what we are doing so badly for Him –

Jesus – will help to open our eyes – if we will only let Him –

Jesus has shown – the Father’s love through service and obedience and by dying for us on the cross –

And – it was through His death –and resurrection – that a new light was released – for the world to follow –

As His followers we must show Jesus to the world – by the way we live – and respond to Him –  

 
 

Conclusion 

 

So we’ve looked at what happened to the blind man – and the Pharisees – what about our vision?
How would we have seen things in this situation?

Jesus wants to turn our blindness into a ministry of hope – to open our eyes – so that we can be an effective witness – to God’s power and grace –

Spiritual blindness shows a lack of vision of God’s presence and purpose for this world –

to lose our eye sight – would condemn us to a life in the shadows – but to receive spiritual sight from Jesus will rekindle our future with a brightness that will never be extinguished

In the story – after – Jesus had healed the blind man – no one could quite believe that it was the same person –
Sometimes when people receive the good news of Jesus Christ – it so transforms them – that people too – wonder if it’s the same person –

Healing does happen – lives are – transformed – we may wonder and ask ourselves – how – but the answer to such questions – is clear – to see in the Gospels – ‘through Jesus Christ’ –

In the end the man didn’t know where to find Jesus – but we do  –

Prayer to finish

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit

AMEN