Do you see what I see?

Friends-Below is the last sermon I preached 3/30/14.I'm trying to be better on posting! Until then enjoy the below based on 1 Samuel 16:1-13 and John 9:1-41.

-Cat

Every Christmas season since I was little there is always a service where the children's choir gets up and sing, "Do you hear what I hear?”.  With gusto, and possibly not enough enthusiasm, these little ones would share the story of Jesus' birth through the perspective of various onlookers, to all assembled. The seemingly innocent questions posed within the song cause us as listeners to think. "Do you know what I know? Do you hear what I hear? Do you see what I see?"

I think these questions asked during Christmas in song are even more important to ask during the season of lent; questions asked to the disciples and to us today. During this year in the liturgical calendar we have looked at many defining moments in the ministry of Jesus.

On the first Sunday we talked about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and were reminded that evil is present but faith prevails. Last week we talked about the Samaritan woman at the well and living water; Pastor Cathy talked about chance encounters and how we should be attentive to the many opportunities to encounter others during our daily lives. In our gospel this week we see another of these chance encounters Jesus makes. This time we meet a man blind from birth who is granted sight to show the Pharisees their blindness.

One of the largest differences between each story is the audience being addressed within. The first encounter is Jesus and the devil-where the devil tried to tempt him after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, the second the woman and Jesus-where the woman goes off joyfully after their exchange at the well proclaiming the news of Jesus to her village, this week the encounter includes the blind man, Jesus, disciples and the Pharisees-where the healing of a socially labeled sinner causes the leaders to question themselves and make a scene of this man’s healing. Each story is pivotal in the narrative of Jesus's ministry and in our Christian faith; evil is present, we must be ready for chance encounters, we need to see. And just like Jesus for us these moment happen with self, in relationship to others and in the larger community.

Now sight is one of our most important senses. I remember being 8 and going through a dark touch tunnel maze. In the maze you couldn't see anything so you relied on your other senses to make it out. The trick was if you kept your hand on the wall as you crawled through you would reach the exit. Yet a few friends who kept on hitting dead ends went from helplessness to absolute fear at being blind within the maze. When I was older I went to that same maze as a counselor and saw that the staff had night vision cameras in the tunnel and watched every child as they went through, when a child completely lost it they were able to open a hatch along the maze and pull the frightened child out, being a light in the darkness and helping to ease the fear. While I’m not afraid of the dark anymore I still get a bit nervous when I can’t see where I am, and I think that’s part of human nature. Yet I also believe that there is a saving grace in every dark moment. In this week’s scripture readings there are three types of blindness we are introduced to; physical, spiritual and resistant, spiritual and willing.

Our John passage tells of a man blind at birth who Jesus saw on the side of the road begging. This man was a social outcast, born without sight, living every day in darkness, never expecting to be healed and being able to see. Yet once sight was granted he was excited and grateful. Neighbors, strangers and the Pharisees all questioned this man and he gave the same answer; "he put mud on my eyes, I washed them and now I see. Yes I was blind from birth. No I don't know who he is but he must be someone powerful, someone to be followed". In his blindness this man lived his life as best as he could and in his sight he did the same. The blindness was a hindrance but not a defining factor of this man. In the passage Margaret read the man tells the Pharisees “you do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.” This man of no faith was instantly changed, unable to explain but able to understand the power of Jesus. Who is this Jesus and how has this been shown to us? What things are in our lives blocking our way to the kin-dom of God? This is the question for us from the man- “Do you know what I know?”

In this same passage we see the resistance of the Pharisees, religious leaders of the time, to the power and majesty of Jesus. They could not believe that this sinner had been healed, obviously it was a sham. These leaders went as far as questioning neighbors and this man’s parents to make sure he really was blind! We see in verse 34 that they went as far as driving this man out of the synagogue and the town because of their lack of understanding. The man shared his testimony over and over again yet the Pharisees did not listen. It was as if he was shouting “Do you hear what I hear?” and the Pharisees had plugs in their ears! But how often are we just like the Pharisees, hearing the sound of words of wisdom but not listening to the words being said? How often do we try not to reflect on a poignant message from church or from conversation with others because we don’t want the truth? What are we hearing????

In our Old Testament reading we are introduced to Samuel, another religious leader. Unlike the Pharisees in the Gospel he listened to Gods direction, although it took him some time to see Gods vision. God sent Samuel to Jesse saying that the next king of Israel was among his sons. Samuel looked at each son of Jesse; some were tall, others were strong, and yet others had a commanding presence, all processing kingly qualities. Each time Samuel asked if this was the one, the Lord’s anointed, and each time he was told no. It wasn’t until David was seen that God declared that this was the king of Israel, “…for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” David was a shepherd, the youngest, a gentle soul but it was his heart that God saw and knew made him the best choice. Do we see the path God has in store? I think there is such importance with not only the anointing but how Samuel reacted to Gods directive. He did not get upset or frustrated with God, rather he kept pursuing until the right answer was found. He saw God vision for Israel and acted towards it. What is God calling for this community to do in this world? Do we see what God sees?

Friends as we continue on this Lenten journey together maybe all the questions and confusion and uncertainty boil down to the song from the children. “I’m gonna live so God can use me anywhere, anytime.” I pray that we take the rest of this season to deepen our understanding of God, to hear the words of wisdom, to see the grace of Jesus in all our interactions and every moment of every day. May we be granted new eyes to see all the wonders in front of us. Praise be to God.