Sunday
03/22/20 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “The Light of the World”
(“The
New Life of Easter” Series: Part 1 of 4)
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 23
New Testament
Scripture: Ephesians 5:8-14
Gospel Lesson:
John 9:1-41
Dear brothers and
sisters in Christ, welcome once again to our Sunday March 22nd 10:15
am worship service here at the Sidney UMC. We once again have just a few people
here to run this worship service. Again, we are recording this service, as to
give us all the feeling that we are in church together physically.
We are still in this season of Holy Lent, which is the
season where we spend 40-days walking with Christ together. This 40-day season
models Jesus’ temptation and fasting in the wilderness, and we are invited to
give up, give away, share, love, sacrifice, and grow closer to Christ through
this time leading to the empty tomb on Easter morning. This morning, once again
is the Fourth Sunday in this season of Lent.
So, I saw a face book post about a week ago that really put
Lent 2020 into great perspective for me. Given everything that we are all going
through right now, this person, who I think is a pastor, posted “I didn’t think
that I would have to give up this much for Lent.” If we think about this for a
minute, due to our current Coronavirus Pandemic, we have all given up so much.
Our lives right now are changed, and probably living through this Coronavirus
Pandemic will change us all forever. Jesus was tempted and fasted in the wilderness
for 40-days and 40-nights. Given what is going on right now in our country and
in the world, is sort of scandalizes us giving up chocolate or Facebook, doesn’t
it?
To be brutally honest, this is the first Lent that I have
given up this much. I have always given up or given away a lot, but this Lent
for Melissa and me, is truly one of great sacrifice. I have never given up this
much for a season of Lent before. Maybe you have, but I haven’t. It does really
bring home for me though the importance of Lent, and why we need to stay
focused on Jesus Christ. Sacrificing and having less, can remind who is truly
in control in our lives.
This Sunday is also UMCOR Sunday, or United Methodist Committee
on Relief Sunday. UMCOR is the relief organization for the entire United Methodist
Church, and when disasters occur, UMCOR responds with help and resources. If we
were all here physically this morning, we would have a giving envelope in our
church bulletins. We can still give on www.UMCgiving.org/giveUMCOR
however. I can imagine with this Global Coronavirus Pandemic that there will be
no shortage of opportunities to give in varies ways. Friends don’t underestimate
what God can use you to do right now. God is and will continue to use us to do
amazing things.
With this said, I am beginning a new sermon series this
morning, called “The New Life of Easter” sermon series. The first part of this
series for this morning is called, “The Light of the World.” In our gospel
lesson for this morning from John 9:5, Jesus says:
“As long as I am in the
world, I am the light of the world” (Jn. 9:5, NRSV).
In
a world with so much darkness, and in a world that right now is covered with
the darkness of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic, Jesus is the light of the
world.
Our
scripture readings this morning very rightly contrast light and dark, and struggle
and hope. In our reading from this morning from Psalm 23, we have a Psalm that
I read at virtually every funeral that I do. It is Psalm that reminds us that:
“Even though I walk
through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with
me; your rod and your staff—they comfort
me” (Ps. 23:4, NRSV).
This Psalm is read at many funerals, and virtually all the
ones I have officiated, because in this Psalm, the Psalmist reminds us that God
is with us through anything. This Psalm reminds that God will be with us
forever (Ps. 23:1-6, NRSV). Psalm 23 is a Psalm that is meant to comfort, to draw
us to closer God, and to give us hope. I bet that many of us need this more
today, than on previous March 22nd’s.
In looking at our New Testament reading from the Apostle
Paul’s epistle or letter of the Ephesians for this morning, once again, we hear
about how before we knew Christ, we walked in darkness. The world is full of
darkness, sin, and brokenness, and the Global Coronavirus Epidemic is simply
another reality that shows us this.
In looking once again at our reading from the Apostle Paul’s
letter to the Ephesians for this morning, he says once again:
“For once you were darkness, but now in
the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—for the fruit of the light is
found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing
to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead
expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but
everything exposed by the light becomes visible, or everything that
becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the
dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:8-14, NRSV).
In this scripture the Apostle Paul
tells the church in Ephesus, or the Ephesians, and us, that the darkness they
walked in has vanished, as they are now walking with Christ. Will they still
experience darkness, sin, and pain? Sure, they will. Now however, they have the
light of Jesus Christ within them. Paul also tells us that the fruit or the
product of the light of Christ in is:
“found in all that is good and right and true” (Eph.
5:9a, NRSV).
In times like this, during this Global
Coronavirus Pandemic, will we as God’s people bear the light of Christ, or will
we succumb to sin and darkness? Will we do:
“what is pleasing to
the Lord” and
will we “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead
expose them” (Eph. 5:11, NRSV)?
I know that I will. If someone right
now is hoarding things, or selling products at ridiculous prices to cheat
people, I will definitely expose them. Yet, the Apostle Paul reminds us once
again, in ending this reading from the Book if Ephesians that:
“but everything exposed by the light
becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it
says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:13-14, NRSV).
So, during this time of the Global
Coronavirus Pandemic, that there is darkness, worry, and brokenness, let us not
forget what Jesus tells us once again in John 9:5:
“As long as I am in the
world, I am the light of the world” (Jn. 9:5, NRSV).
During times like this and always, the
Apostle Paul tells us that everything will become in visible in the light of Christ.
Now is the time to show the world the light of Christ, which is “The New Life
of Easter,” that is coming on Easter morning. Now is the time to call each
other, to check in, and to do what we can, even if we are quarantined at home.
We can still love, care, reach out, and be there for each other, even if we are
not interacting face to face.
In our very long gospel of John lesson
for this morning, not only does Jesus tell us, as my sermon title says, that he
is “The Light of the World,” but we also have the story of Jesus healing a blind
man. Jesus does this by spitting on some mud, rubbing this into a paste of sorts,
and then applying it to this blind man’s eyes. This man was blind from birth,
and Jesus disciples assumed that this blind man or his parents had sinned, to
cause his blindness. In effect, the sin caused the punishment that was this man’s
blindness. The scripture says though:
“Jesus
answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that
God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no
one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world”
(Jn.
9:3-5, NRSV).
Jesus then spits on the mud, covers the man’s eyes in this
muddy paste that he has made, and tells the man to go and wash at the:
“pool of Siloam” (which means Sent).
Then he went and washed and came back able to see” (Jn. 9:7, NRSV).
Quickly people see this, and see this man regain his sight,
and many questioned. Some assumed that this seeing man, was a man that looked
like the blind man, as he could now see. People were astonished and perplexed,
so the man that was once blind, explained to all the people what Jesus had done
for him.
Some of the people then brought this healed man to the Pharisees,
and the formerly blind man told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. Some of the Pharisees,
however, say of Jesus:
“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. 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” (Jn. 9:16-17, NRSV).
So, there is now debate over who Jesus is, as the blind man
can now clearly see. Some of the Jews and Pharisees then get the formerly blind
man’s parents and question them. The parents then say of their formerly blind
son that he was indeed born blind. The parents then said to their questioners to
ask formerly blind man himself, as he can speak for himself, as they were afraid
of being ostracized by the faith community that they were part of.
So, the Pharisees called the formerly blind man back again
to question him a second time. The scripture then says of this:
“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.” He
answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that
though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How
did he open your eyes?” 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?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we
are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this
man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here is an
astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my
eyes. 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.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in
sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out” (Jn. 9:24-34, NRSV).
The man who was formerly blind is now questioned second
time, and then is shunned and driven out as the Pharisees are not satisfied
with this man’s answers. So that’s nice, Jesus heals this man, he is interrogated
twice, his parents once, and then he is kicked out of the synagogue and shunned
to boot!
Jesus then gets wind of this. As a result of this, the
scripture ends this morning say:
“Jesus
heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he 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. 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.” Some of the Pharisees near him
heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to
them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We
see,’ your sin remains” (Jn. 9:35-41, NRSV).
Jesus sees the formerly blind man, and the man believes in
Jesus and worships him. Jesus is then challenged again by the Pharisees telling
them that there is visual eyesight and spiritual eyesight. We can be blind
literally, or spiritually blind to our sin and our brokenness.
During this time of the season of Lent, and during this
time of this Global Coronavirus Pandemic may we seek and share light and the
healing of Jesus Christ. May we also remember that we can be physically blind
or spiritually blind. May we not be blind to each other and the need of others through
this time we are going through now. Know that God is control, and that this all
to shall come to pass. The church and its leaders are here for you. We’re
praying for you, and you are loved. Amen.
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