Sidney UMC - Palm/Passion Sunday - 04/02/23 - Sermon - “Jesus Is A Humble King!” (“The Journey to the Empty Tomb” Series: Part 6 of 7)

Palm Sunday 04/02/23 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:                “Jesus Is A Humble King!”                                      (“The Journey to the Empty Tomb” Series: Part 6 of 7)        

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29                                         

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11   

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 21:1-11

          Every year at events like the Oscars and other events, we hear about that famed “red carpet”. Some people wait in anticipation every year to see what each person is going to wear when they enter. Will it be a dress, a suit, or an outfit to the tune of thousands of dollars? Will it be a political statement? Etc. Will it be jewelry that could cost thousands or even millions of dollars. Will it be a stretch limo or perhaps a Mercedes? I have seen television shows before that are on the day after these big events. Sometimes on these show people analyze what each famous or affluent person wore. These people who are analyzing can sometimes be harsh and even mean with their critiques. Yet every year, there seems to be this pomp and splendor as actors and other affluent people enter the Oscars and other high up and swank events.

          Suppose then that you wanted to make your own grand entrance. How would you do it? Whether it was the Oscars, or some other grand event, how would you enter? Would you come in on a private jet? A helicopter? A very expensive car or a limo? Would you have the most expensive clothes and jewelry on? Would you have an entourage with you as to show your wealth, power, and status?

          In some countries, mostly dictatorships, the leader sometimes has a big military parade every year. At these parades, all manner of tanks and weapons are rolled through the streets, as the leader stands up on high, surrounded by generals and other leaders. In doing so, everyone in that country and the world can see the power of that leader. Talk about an entrance!

          This morning, Jesus enters Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna!” Yet, if we were in charge of Jesus entering the holy city this morning for the coming Passover holiday, how would we have Jesus enter the city? Maybe we would have Jesus riding on a horse drawn chariot covered in gold and jewels? Maybe we would put the finest armor on Jesus? Maybe Jesus would have a vast army come in with him, along with leaders, and other affluent people? Maybe we would have elephants, food, and an ostentatious display of wealth, power, and status.

          Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully human on earth certainly could have entered Jerusalem in this way if he wanted. Yet, according to our Matthew 21:1-11 reading, once again, Jesus does enter the holy city of Jerusalem, or “Zion” with an ostentatious display of wealth, power, and status. Instead, Jesus rides into to Jerusalem on this day, that we now call Palm Sunday, on a donkey. Further, on a borrowed donkey. Jesus doesn’t put on fancy clothes. He probably wears the same thing that he always wears. We don’t even know if his clothes were clean on this day.

          Jesus comes into the holy city of Jerusalem this today on a borrow donkey and a colt. A colt in this case, is a young male donkey, and in this case was with the other donkey, which maybe was the colt’s mother. Both of these animals are borrowed, and Jesus rides into Jerusalem. The disciples then put their cloaks on the donkey and the colt as a sort of blankets and a seat for Jesus. They put Jesus on top of the donkey with the colt. The very large crowd that had assemble spread there cloaks on the roads as a sort of “red carpet” I guess you could say. Jesus’ entrance would not be on the bear ground but on the cloaks of the people. Others cut branches from palm trees and spread those on the road to further this “red carpet” treatment of sorts.

          The crowd also shouted affirmations to Jesus as he entered Jerusalem this morning. In fact, our gospel of Matthew 21:1-11 reading ends, once again, with Matthew 21:9-11 saying:

⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” ¹⁰ When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹ The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee” (Mt. 21:9-11, NRSV).

          I can imagine if someone came to the Oscars next year and arrived on a donkey with a colt, had warn and maybe dirty clothes, people would be shocked. I mean Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, enters Jerusalem in such a common and a regular way? Why would Jesus enter this way?

          I have read Christian scholars that have written that King Herod Antipas of Judea and the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate often entered with pomp and splendor. Pilate likely was riding a chariot with the finest armor, along with soldiers. No doubt these soldiers beat drums and horns were played. I can imagine that King Herod Antipas of Judea entrances were no different. Yet Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and the lord of lords enters like a common person. Jesus enters like poor man, a man with little to nothing.

          The savior of the world, the lord of the universe enters the holy city, Jerusalem, for the coming Passover holiday like a no one. Why would Jesus do this? Would you bring Jesus in this way if you were in charge of his entrance into Jerusalem? Would you yourself want to make an entrance like this?

          The answer to why Jesus entered into Jerusalem this day, Palm Sunday, the way that he did, was because, “Jesus Is A Humble King!” While being fully God and fully human, Jesus came to be like us, and to be among regular people like us. Jesus wanted to see, experience, and live just like everyone else does. This is very different than the red carpet at the Oscars.

          Even though Jesus got a grand reception from many people with them putting their cloaks on the ground and cutting palm branches to lay in his path or to wave, I can image that the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, and King Herod Antipas of Judea probably laughed at this entrance. “What a poor and insignificant nobody!” they might have thought”.

          You know who has always impressed me, and who has always gotten my respect though? I know people, as many of us probably do, that have achieved a lot in this world. There achievements could be in all different categories. The one that I tend to admire and respect a lot though, are those who have risen to the top ranks of business, the community, etc., yet they don’t change. They still are who they are, they still wear the clothes that they wear, and they still drive the same old vehicle. Could they buy all new things? Sure, they could, but they don’t believe that they need to put on a show for anyone. I really like what the Christian financial expert Dave Ramsey says. He said, “One day I got up and decided to stop buying things that I don’t need, to impress people that I don’t like”. Jesus didn’t care about the “red carpet” or “keeping up with the Jones.” Jesus, God in flesh, came to earth to live like and to be like one of us. For “Jesus Is A Humble King!”

          We hear some of these realities in our scripture readings for this morning. In our reading from Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29, we hear starting in 118:1-2

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!

² Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” ¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord (Ps. 118:1-2, NRSV). 

          On this day, there was joy and celebration, as Jesus entered Jerusalem in the most humble of ways. Shouts of “Hosanna,” a shout of praise, a shout saying “deliver us,” as Jesus, our righteous Lord enters Jerusalem. In fact, our reading from Psalm 118:20 picks up saying, once again:

²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. ²¹ I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. ²² The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. ²³ This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. ²⁴ This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  ²⁵ Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! ²⁶ Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. ²⁷ The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar. ²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. ²⁹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever (Ps. 118:20-29, NRSV).

 

          Certainly, a great foreshadowing from the Psalmist of what happened on that first Palm Sunday. Our righteous king and lord, Jesus Christ enters Jerusalem, he will soon on Good Friday be rejected, tried, tortured, and crucified. Today though, the Psalmist tells of us of a procession with branches, and that God’s love endures forever.

          In addition to this, the Apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:5-11, starting in 2:5 once again to:

⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, ⁸ he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross               (Phil. 2:5-8, NRSV).

          This scripture really reinforces what I have been saying about how Jesus enters the holy city of Jerusalem on this day. Jesus, according to the Apostle Paul was in the form of God, but didn’t consider equality with God something to be big headed or proud about. Instead, Jesus was humble, took the form of slave, and was even humble and obedient to the point of death on a cross.

          This is far different than someone trying to show off or impress others. For “Jesus Is A Humble King!” God comes to down to earth, puts on flesh, dwells among us, and becomes common and ordinary. As I said, this is why I have always been impressed with and have respected people that have achieved great worldly success, yet are still humble and remember where they came from.  For example, a lot of people have joked about my little used Honda Fit that I drive. Could I get a newer car? I could? Why though, I am not trying to impress anyone, and neither was Jesus. God’s perfect love collided with earth when Jesus was born, and this perfect love is humble, gracious, and is offered to us all.

          As we see in our reading from Matthew 21:1-11, once again, on that first Palm Sunday the prophecy of the Old Testament Prophet Zechariah came true. The Prophet Zechariah wrote these words long before Jesus was born, what is quoted in Matthew 21:5 that says:

⁵ “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Mt. 21:5, NRSV).

          This prophecy was fulfilled this morning through Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Even though Jesus was God in the flesh, as the Apostle Paul said, he was humble and he became like one of us. The people laid there cloaks on the ground as Jesus’ red carpet, people cut and laid palm branches, and some no doubt waved them. As they did, they shouted:

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Mt. 21:9b, NRSV).

          This is a good and joyous day in the life of the church, and it has been for nearly two-thousand years. On this day, Jesus Christ our Lord enters the holy city of Jerusalem, like one of us. Jesus is the savior of the poor and of all people.

          As this week continues, Jesus will continue loving, healing, and forgiving. This Thursday, or also called Maundy or Holy Thursday, is the night that Jesus has the Last Supper. Since this night this year falls on a Sauce and Cross night, we are going to have dinner together, and then worship together. This worship service will include communion, foot or hand washing, and the “Maundy” or the commandment to love each other.

          Jesus will then spend the rest of this Thursday night in the Garden of Gethsemane, only to be arrest early on Good Friday. On Good Friday, this Friday, Jesus will be rejected, tried, torture, and crucified, for us. Today though is a celebration, as our king and our lord, Jesus Christ enters the city of Jerusalem in the humblest of ways. For “Jesus Is A Humble King!” Amen.

Sidney UMC - Fifth Sunday In Lent - 03/26/23 - Sermon - “Jesus Raised The Dead!” (“The Journey to the Empty Tomb” Series: Part 5 of 7)

Sunday 03/26/23 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:                “Jesus Raised The Dead!”                                           (“The Journey to the Empty Tomb” Series: Part 5 of 7)            

Old Testament Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14                                        

New Testament Scripture: Romans 8:6-11   

Gospel Lesson: John 11:1-45 

          The topic of death is a challenging topic for many of us. Most of us don’t like to talk about this topic, and many of us struggle even with the idea of death. I have always found it interesting, for example, that in many of the funerals I have officiated, how alive someone can look on the day of their own funeral. The casket is open, and it looks as if the person who has passed away could literally just sit up at any point. They looked like they were just sleeping.

          In addition, there is the real grief of death, and for some fear. People have asked me before, “Pastor Paul are you afraid of death?” My answer is generally, “I am not afraid of death, but the process of dying does not sound too exciting to me!” Death is a hard reality. We lose pets, people, friends, etc. In the winter months it can seem like death is all around us as the trees have dropped their leaves, and the life of summer is far gone. As I have said many times, and as I have written in some of our church newsletter articles, it never ceases to amaze me what happens every year in the spring. What seemed like the cold, darkness, and death of winter is renewed. God renews the earth every year, and new life is all around us.

          It is an odd combination really, death and life. Sometimes life and death also seem to happen at the same time, or close to each other. During my seven-months as a chaplain intern at SUNY Upstate University Hospital, sometimes in the morning, I could be comforting, grieving, and praying with a family that had lost a loved one. Yet by the afternoon, I am sitting with a woman celebrating finally getting a clean bill of health. This woman was full of life and it is like she was reborn. This was amazing to me that this all happened within one day, but such is hospital chaplaincy.

          In the scriptures we not only hear about physical death, but we also hear about spiritual death. A person can die and live forever in eternity, but a person can also be alive and be dead inside. In the same way that Jesus healed a man born blind in our gospel lesson from last Sunday, we can see the eyes in our heads, and we can see with the eyes in our hearts and our souls.

          Jesus came into this world to, as he said in John 10:10b:

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10b, NRSV).

          The life, mission, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are all supposed to bring new hope, new life, new light, and new love to the world.

          I say all of this, because in the gospels Jesus encountered people that were literally dead, as they died, and Jesus also met people that were very much alive, but who were dead inside. Jesus resurrected people that were spiritually dead. People that were lost, people that were broken, people that were rejected by the world. Jesus offered new hope, new life, and rebirth of spirit to many.

          In our gospel of John lesson for this morning, Jesus’s friend Lazarus died. Lazarus doesn’t die spiritually or inside, but literally dies. Lazarus is entombed, and Jesus resurrects him not only physically back to life, but no doubt resurrects him mind, body, and spirit.

          As I said, death is a challenging topic, but a reality in our culture, and in the world. Having someone we love or care about no longer be there is a struggle for many of us. Yet, I have met some people, as I have said, that are alive but are dead inside. I have visited people that are elderly that feel like they are all used up. Some of these people feel like that they have nothing left to offer their communities or the world. They feel sometimes like that they are just lingering until God calls them home.

          As the church, as the body of Christ, Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, equips us to be people of God in our communities and the world. We when do this, we encounter all manner of people. In going to someone, spending time with someone, and loving someone, sometimes that person can experience new life. Sometimes in ministering to and loving that person, we too can experience new life.

          It saddens me as a pastor and as a person, that we have so people in this area and in general who are suffering. We all suffer in different ways, but we have some people here in Sidney and near and far that really suffer. Jesus, when he was on earth went directly to people like this. In my seven-week sermon series, “The Journey To The Empty Tomb,” Jesus was tempted and tried, a wealthy and a prominent Pharisee named Nicodemus came to him in the middle of the night seeking new spiritual birth from Jesus. A Samaritan Woman at the well was offered new life and new hope, and last Sunday Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth. Jesus not only opened the eyes in that man’s head, but he opened the eyes of his heart too. Jesus came, my friends, so that we have life and have it abundantly.

          So, this morning, as we are preparing to celebrate the life of a man who is almost 100-years old, do we have life abundantly? Or are we going through the motions, but not really as happy and as fulfilled as we used to be? Do we have joy, hope, peace, and mercy? We will all die one day physically, but some people that I have meet, while alive, seem already dead inside. In the sense of eternity then, we can die but alive, and we can be alive, but be dead.

          I really love our Old Testament reading for this morning from the Prophet Ezekiel. In this reading from Ezekiel 37:1-14, we hear about new life. This prophetic vision of God restoring his covenant people. This prophetic vision that Ezekiel had starts once again, in 37:1 for this morning. Picking up in 37:1 it says:

37 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. ³ He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezek. 37:1-6, NRSV).

          The God of the universe is in the business of new life, not death. Where there is death, sorrow, and hopelessness, God will bring new life and new hope. As the body of Christ, we are part of that process. We are to go to all people loving, healing, and forgiving. Letting the elderly know that their wisdom and knowledge is something that we all need more of. Letting all people know that God loves them, and that they have a home in places like the Sidney UMC.

          The scripture then continues on, as this vision from God to Ezekiel is that of dead and dry bones coming together. What is dead is reanimated, reinvigorated, and death become new life. A place that was once full of death, is now full of life. God tells Ezekiel that these bones, this death is the whole house of Israel, or God’s covenant people. Yet God tells Ezekiel to preach of new life, or resurrection. Picking up in Ezekiel 37:12, it says once again of God speaking to Ezekiel,

¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord”               (Ezek. 37:12-14, NRSV).

          Some Jews believe that in the end of days, they will literally and bodily be resurrected to new life. When I stood on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Israel in 2014, up the hill from the Garden of Gethsemane, I saw the graves of many people. None of them were buried underground however, as they all were buried in crypts or mausoleums. These Jews believed and believe that on the day of resurrection they will be the first to rise, be reanimated and have new life in the kingdom of God.

          Resurrection, new life, new hope, rebirth, very much was what Jesus lived and taught. Not just eternal life, but new life here and now. For those that we know that are suffering so much, how can God use us to bring them new life and new hope? How can God fill us, so that the Holy Spirit might use us to bring the love, kindness, and mercy of Jesus to the word?

          In our reading from the Book of Romans, once again, the Apostle Paul tells us that this earthly life is not found just in things, not found just in pleasure, but in holy things, spiritual things, and in things of love and mercy. Picking up in our Book of Romans reading for this morning, it says once again, starting in 8:6 this:

⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you (Rom. 8:6-8, NRSV).

          Our consumer culture tends to tell us that joy and life is found only in possessions, consumption, and pleasure. The Apostle Paul reminds us that faith, peace, mercy, love, are things that can really sustain us. For the things that we buy will break down, will rust, and will fade away. Yet do we love, do we have life, do we have new birth? I am concerned more with the person down the street who is feeling broken then the latest pair tennis shoes, or a new car.

          This leads us to our gospel of John reading for this morning about Jesus’ friend Lazarus. Once again, starting in John 11:1, it says, once again:

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it”              (Jn. 11:11-4, NRSV).

          Jesus hears that Lazarus; the brother of Mary and Martha is sick. Yet, Jesus said that Lazarus’ illness leads to life, not death. Jesus says this, like when he healed the blind man in our gospel reading from last week that this healing or resurrection will reveal God’s glory through him. 

          In a way then, some people get very fixated on the physical resurrection of Lazarus after four days of being dead. Now the miracle is recorded. A named Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, died. Four days later Jesus called to him and he walked out of the tomb alive. Yet there is so much more here than just physical resurrection.

          For starters, Jesus doesn’t seem shocked or worried that Lazarus is really sick. Instead, Jesus says that God is going to be glorified through this. Further, after hearing that Lazarus was really sick, Jesus stayed where he was two more days, and Lazarus died during that time. Jesus then tells his disciples that Lazarus had fallen asleep, and he was going to wake him up. Jesus then elaborated and said that Lazarus had died.

          When Jesus arrives, Lazarus’ sister Martha comes out to meet Jesus, and she is very upset. Jesus tells her that Lazarus will raise from the dead, and not in the future, but right there and then. Jesus then reminds Martha in John 11:25:

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die (Jn. 11:25-26, NRSV).

          Lazarus’ sister Mary then comes to Jesus, and Mary was weeping in grief, and some other Jews were weeping. This caused Jesus to be emotionally moved, and the shortest verse in the bible, or one of them, is John 11:35 that says:

 ³⁵ Jesus began to weep (Jn. 11:35, NRSV).

 

Imagine, Jesus Christ, crying, potentially tears running down his face.

 

          Jesus then proceeds with the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Martha was concerned that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days, and Martha was worried that there was a stench. In the gospel of John 11:41, the gospel says, once again:

⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” ⁴⁵ Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him (Jn. 11:41-45, NRSV).

 

          On this day Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but many around him were raised spiritually from the dead. For some die but live, and some are alive but are dead inside. Jesus came to bring new life, new hope, and new joy. Friends, beyond just a physical resurrection and the miracle that Jesus performed, how we can ask the Holy Spirit today to resurrect us anew? There are so many people in this community and in this world that need you, your ministry, and your gifts and graces. There are people that are dead, yet alive, and may we be among those who suffer, and among all people. For “Jesus Raised The Dead! Amen.

Sidney UMC - UMCOR Sunday/Fourth Sunday In Lent - 03/19/23 - Sermon - “Jesus Healed The Blind!” (“The Journey to the Empty Tomb” Series: Part 4 of 7)

                                    Sunday 03/19/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:                “Jesus Healed The Blind!”                               (“The Journey to the Empty Tomb” Series: Part 4 of 7)   

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 23                                          

New Testament Scripture: Ephesians 5:8-14   

Gospel Lesson: John 9:1-41 

          Has anyone here ever known someone who was or is blind? Some people are born blind, some go blind at a young age, or become blind as they get older. Some people are what’s called “legally blind”. They can still see some, but not good enough to drive or do other things that they used to do.

          I believe that sometimes we can take things for granted. Our health, our hearing, or in this case our eye sight. I have been blessed to have never needed to wear glasses, and I need to remember this blessing more often, as some do not have that same blessing. It seems that each of us inherit some physical and or bodily characteristics that are really good, and some of us inherit things like heart disease, bad knees, arthritis, and other things, that are not good.

          Being blind though, must be a challenge. We live in a big world with all sorts of obstacles and dangers, and a blind person cannot see any of these. I say all of this, because in our gospel of John reading for this morning, “Jesus Healed The Blind!” Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth, and therefore this man never saw anything that you and I see through our eyes. We could also make the argument to that some people are spiritually blind. This can be heard through songs like “Open The Eyes Of My Heart,” by Michael W. Smith. We can be physically blind, but we can also be spiritually blind. The eyes of our hearts can be closed, even if the eyes in our head allow us to see the world around us.

As I said, I was blessed to be born with good eye sight, be we all have things in our family histories both good or bad. I heard a woman say once at church, for example, “I have bad knees just like mother did!” Being grateful to God when parts of our bodies are working well is a good thing.

I also remember a student when Melissa and I attended SUNY Potsdam College. During my time at the college, I was a resident assistant or RA for three years. I was in charge of a dormitory floor of guys, and reported to the Resident Director or RD. It was mostly a fun job. I got free housing for the work, I would look out for and help the guys if they needed something, and we also did programming. I would organize trips, dinners, learning events, etc. Some of the guys would regularly be in my dorm room hanging out or just to ask questions. Every semester I would make new door tags for each student, and I was sort of a big brother to these students.

As I was preparing to write this sermon, I thought of one program in particular that I organized for my dorm floor of guys, as well as others who came. To be honest, I cannot remember the name of the student that taught this program, but she was blind. She was a full-time college student, attending SUNY Potsdam, but was blind. She attended all her classes, did all her school work, and yes, she was completely blind.

I cannot remember what her major was, but I first remember meeting her one warm fall day early in the morning. I remember that I had my book back and I was walking to a 9:00 AM history class, I think. All of the sudden this young woman came up behind me, as I had just walked out of the dorm building. She said, “excuse me, what academic building are you going to?” I turned around and told her, and she said, “I am going there too!” I said, “oh wow!” She then got closer to me and said, “can I walk to class with you?” Now before you think the wrong thing, this well before my Melissa!

So, after she asked me if I could walk to class with her, she said, “can I latch my arm onto your arm as we walk?” I thought internally, “well Paul, I guess this girl likes you!” While I was internally mentally flattering myself, this young woman then said, “I am blind, and every day I do this walking and latching onto different people to get where I am going”. Well for me, this was humbling, as this young woman would approach complete strangers daily, or ask a friend to help her, and would ask to walk to a class building with her arm latched to another person. Well, a couple of my friends saw me doing this, and later on said, “So I saw some girl trying to flirt with you earlier”. I told them, “Look guys, I thought that at first to, but she was blind and needed help getting to class”.

This was the young woman that I asked to do an educational program for my dorm floor of guys and other students, staff, and leaders. She brough with her various machines and contraptions that she used to help her read, write, and do everything a college student needed to do to complete her studies. She also had some aides that would help her and sometimes reading things to her, and etc. She definitely got a lot of support, due to her blindness, but she told us that she was a “Straight A” student. It was an amazing, humbling, and a mind opening presentation for many of us.

Then a few days later, one of the knucklehead guys on my dorm floor didn’t want to wake up and go to class, and he was consistently getting D’s and C’s. I then thought to myself, “this young woman is blind, and with various supports is getting “Straight A’s”. Yet this guy does not want to wake up to go to class!”

I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded sometimes of just how good I have it. I need to thank God sometimes for the many blessings in my life. As you heard me read in our long gospel of John reading a few minutes ago, today Jesus heals a blind man. Not a man that went blind, or gradually lost his sight, or lost his sight due to an injury. Instead, this man was born blind. This man never got to see anything that we see. Or for some of us that we used to see much better.

This morning in the gospel of John, Jesus heals this man, as he sees. This amazes the man, his family, and the whole community. I mean just imagine, you have never seen anything, and then in an instant you seeing perfectly. What must it have been like for this grown man to see for the first time? Well, as you can understand, this reminded me of the blind student that I went to school with. A student that to this day continues to impress me with what she was able to accomplish without seeing.

Unfortunately, though, in the era that Jesus lived in, there were no social programs or help people with disabilities. In Jesus’ day, a blind person would usually end up a beggar on the street. Why? Well, if you can’t see, it is hard to work. Maybe you could perform tasks by touch alone, but without being able to see, it was a really tough life back them. It is tough now to, but not like it once was.

Before getting into our gospel of John reading for this morning however, I want to briefly touch on our Psalm 23 and Ephesians 5:8-14 readings, for this morning. In our reading from Psalm 23, once again, we hear what is arguably the most famous and most recited of all of the Psalms. Imagine though if you were hearing Psalm 23 as a blind person. Let me read Psalm 23 to you all again. Starting in Psalm 23:1-2 it says:

¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; (Ps. 23:1-2, NRSV).

Now when I hear that God will lead me, I hear it as his spiritual presence. A blind person may believe this too, but maybe they also believe that God will be physically guide them, as well. After all, they can’t see with their eyes. Psalm 23 continues on picking up on 23:3 saying, once again:
3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 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. 5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long (Ps. 23:3-6, NRSV).

          I wonder if some people that are blind have a little bit of a different understanding of how God leads them, and if walking through the darkest valley is different for them. This blind classmate of mine showed me that we can not only see with our physical eyes, but we can see with the eyes of our hearts. Further, when some can’t see with there physical eyes, there other senses grow stronger, so that they can survive to do things better.

           In briefly looking at our reading from Ephesians 5:8-14, we hear about spiritual blindness. The Apostle Paul says beginning in 5:8, once again:

⁸ for once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Walk as children of light, ⁹ for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. ¹⁰ Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly, ¹³ but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴ for 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). 

          The Apostle Paul says we were in darkness, but in the Lord, we are in light. We are to walk as children of light. Well, I don’t think that the Apostle Paul meant this strictly as seeing with our eyes and walking with our feet. The Apostle Paul is talking about spiritual blindness. Our hearts were closed, and we were spiritually blind. Don’t participate in works of darkness, the Apostle Paul says, for we cannot see in the darkness. Only light can illuminate the darkness, and this is true for both physical and spiritual blindness. For Jesus is the light of the world. Blind people cannot see physically, and spiritually blind people cannot see, because they have not sought the light of Christ.

          This leads me up to our gospel lesson from John 9:1-41 for this morning, once again. In this gospel lesson, once again, Jesus literally heals a man, as I said, born blind. Jesus makes this man see for the first time in his life. Let us look at our gospel of John 9:1-41 reading for this morning, once again. Starting in John 9:1, it says once again:

9 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷ saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see     (Jn. 9:1-7, NRSV).

 

          In the time that Jesus lived, it was unfortunately thought that if you were born with a disability or had a certain disease or affliction, it was because of your sin. Further, if your parents had committed grievous sins than your condition might be due to what they did before you. Jesus refutes this and says this many is not blind because of his sin or his parents’ sin. Jesus than says that neither the blind man or his parents have sinned. Instead, Jesus said God is going to use this man’s blindness to work through him for his glory. This was definitely true of my classmate who was blind, but still managed to get straight a’s.

          As the part of our gospel lesson that I just read says, the disciples thought this blind man or his parents had sinned causing his blindness, but Jesus did not. Jesus then spits on the ground, and rubs the dirt around to make mud. After this, Jesus smears this mud on the face of the blind man, and then tells him to wash in pool of Siloam. I actually got to see this place when I was in the Holy Land in 2014. The blind man washes, and then miraculously is able to see.

          As you can imagine the blind man’s neighbors and the whole community are amazed that this happened. Some then speculated however, that Jesus didn’t heal this man that was blind from birth, but instead he healed a man that looked like the blind man. Many people wanted to know from the blind man, how he got his sight. He explained that a man named Jesus spat on the ground, made mud from the dirt and spit, and rubbed it on his eyes. He then washed his face and could see. As you can imagine, while some people saw what happened, there were some that were very skeptical. Some saw that is a magic trick or fake healing.

          Well at this point, the Pharisees have caught wind of the blind man being healed, and they wanted to know what happened. So, they bring the healed blind man in for a sort of integration. The wanted to know how he could now see. He explained what Jesus did with the mud and washing. Since Jesus also performed this miracle on the Sabbath Day, the Pharisees felt that in Jesus doing this he was working. The Sabbath Day is a day of rest. As a result, the Pharisees asked the now healed blind man how a sinner could heal him. The Pharisees are divided at this point on what to believe. They asked the healed blind man who he though Jesus was. The healed blind man said that Jesus must be a prophet.

          Well, this was not enough evidence, so the Pharisees now call in the parents of the healed blind man and interrogate them. The parents of the healed blind man said their son was born blind and they do not know how he now sees. Then they tell the Pharisees to ask their son these things themselves, as his son is old enough to speak for himself. The parents of the healed blind man were also afraid, and did not want to claim that Jesus was the Messiah, due to persecution.

          So now the Pharisees bring back the healed blind man a second time to interrogate him. The Pharisees ask again how a sinner could have healed him. The healed blind man then says picking up in John 9:25, once again:

²⁵ He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (Jn. 9:25, NRSV). 

 

          Well, this also was not good enough for the Pharisees. They pushed further, and wanted to know how Jesus mad this man see. The healed blind man then tells the Pharisees I have already told you how Jesus healed me, and you just won’t listen to what I am saying. There is continued grumbling over who Jesus is, and the healed blind man then says picking up in John 9:30:

³⁰ The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. ³² Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing”                                 (Jn. 9:30-33, NRSV). 

 

          Well at this point, the Pharisees tell the healed blind man that he was born blind because of his sin, and they cannot believe that he would dare to try to teach them anything! The Pharisees then drive the healed blind man out, out of anger. The healed blind man then sees Jesus, and Jesus asks him if he believes in him. The healed blind man then comes to believe in Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

          The gospel of John reading then ends with 9:39-41 saying:

 

 ³⁹ 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.” ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains (Jn. 9:39-41, NRSV).

 

          I learned a lot from my classmate at SUNY Potsdam who was blind, about being able to see with more than your eyes. For we can see with our eyes, and we can see with the eyes of our heart. Jesus came to restore our physical eye sight, but even more than that, he came to lead us out of spiritual blindness. For there are those who can see with there eyes that our spiritually blind, and there are those who are physically blind, but their spiritual eyes are opened. Jesus came to not just heal physical blindness, but to heal spiritual blindness to. This why “Jesus Healed The Blind!” Amen.