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.

Sidney UMC - Third Sunday In Lent - 03/12/23 - Sermon - “Jesus Went To The Rejected!” (“The Journey to the Empty Tomb” Series: Part 3 of 7)

                                  Sunday 03/12/23 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:              “Jesus Went To The Rejected!”                                    (“The Journey to the Empty Tomb” Series: Part 3 of 7)      

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 95                                           

New Testament Scripture: Romans 5:1-11   

Gospel Lesson: John 4:5-42    

          A few times now, I have seen the commercial for an organization out of Green Valley, Texas called “Mercy Ships”. This organization, according to their website, www.mercyships.org provides life changing surgeries and medical procedures for free. Not only this, the doctors, the nurses, and the surgeons on these ships all donate their time. I am not entirely sure about all of the surgeries and all of the medical procedures that “Mercy Ships” provides, but I do know that they do surgeries for cleft lips, cleft palates, and the removal of large tumors. When a child or a person has a cleft lip, a cleft palate, or a large tumor, this is sometimes visually striking.

          As a result of this, sometimes children and people are bullied, treated differently, or they feel rejected by everyone. Since they look different than the majority, they may feel outcast, broken, defective, and unloved. What the organization “Mercy Ships” does however, is provides the child or the person with the surgery or the medical care that is needed. This is often done in very impoverished countries. Should a child or a person be treated differently because they have a cleft lip, or a cleft palate, or a large tumor? No, of course not, but we all know the world that we are living in. People can be cruel and mean.

          So, these medical professionals donate their time, and sometimes it’s their own vacation time from work, so that these children and people can have normal lives, once again. Some of these children and parents are also in great pain because of their health and or medical conditions, and the organization “Mercy Ships” helps to fix or correct these realties (https://www.mercyships.org/about-us/).

          For example, one of the stories that I read from the “Mercy Ships” website was about was about a little girl in Africa named “Adama”. Let me tell you all her story. Here it is:

In central Senegal, a young woman gave birth to a baby — her firstborn child. It should have been a moment of celebration. Yet when she saw her baby, Adama, for the first time, that joy was slowly overshadowed by fear for her daughter’s future. Adama had been born with a cleft lip, and her mother knew there was nothing she could do to fix it. She believed her daughter would have a better life, so she sent her to live with her grandparents. Binta, Adama’s grandmother, took the newborn in and spent the next four years caring for her like her own. It was hard to feed Adama — a common issue for babies born with a cleft lip, leaving many struggling with malnutrition — but Binta kept trying until she was strong enough to survive. Despite the challenges, Adama’s grandparents never gave up.

Thanks to the love she received from her grandparents, Adama grew up strong and filled with curiosity. As soon as she was able, she wanted to help her grandparents work on the farm. “She would always watch us as we did our work,” said her grandfather, Issa. “She was always curious and tried to mimic our behavior to see if she could do the same.” Adama loved pushing the bounds of her curiosity, but her scope for exploration was limited. Due to her cleft lip, Adama was afraid to play with other children, as they would often look or laugh at her. Instead, she decided to stay close to her grandparents, where she felt safe.

Without access to surgery to heal Adama’s condition, Binta had begun to believe that her granddaughter’s future would always be hindered. Then one day, a spark of hope ignited. Binta heard about a hospital ship that was visiting her country. Though she was hesitant at first, she knew that this was Adama’s chance for healing. Fueled by love for her granddaughter, Binta and Adama made the long journey across the country toward the port city of Dakar, Senegal where the Africa Mercy® was docked.

After a few appointments with Mercy Ships’ healthcare volunteers, Binta could hardly believe her ears when she heard the words she never thought she would hear: Adama would receive surgery. While on board the Africa Mercy, Binta noticed her granddaughter healing both in body and spirit. “While we were on the ship, Adama’s curiosity grew immensely,” she shared. “I think it was the people on the ship who helped her to explore that side even more.” Adama even made a new friend on board, Aminata, a girl who was also healing from a cleft lip surgery. The girls became playmates, constantly giggling together and pointing at everyone around them. Thanks to the love and friendships they experienced on board, Adama recovered fully and quickly. As the two prepared for the long journey back to their community, Binta shared her gratitude for Mercy Ships: “I am so happy. Only God can do this. I thank God and all the nurses and the day crew. On the ship, Adama loved playing with the other kids and the nurses.” When Adama and Binta returned home, their whole community was in awe of the change in front of their eyes. Her grandfather, Issa, had tears in his eyes when he saw that his little girl was healed. “We have always wanted the best for her, and we would have never given up on Adama,” Issa shared. “But now she is healed, and that hard time is behind us. It is time for celebration now!” Today Adama’s childhood is free of the limitations she was born with, and her curiosity can take flight. One can only imagine what the future will hold for this little girl (https://www.mercyships.org/adama/).

          Now why would I tell you this story about the organization “Mercy Ships”? Am I getting a commission from them? No. Am I organizing a mission trip to be on one of these ships? Well, I am open to that!

          I tell you this story because it reminds me of the story in our gospel of John 4:5-42 reading for this morning about the Samaritan “woman at the well”. It must have been hard for little “Adama,” the little girl in the story that I just told you about, to be excluded. She didn’t go around the other kids because she was laughed at and felt bad.

          In a similar way, the Samaritan “woman at the well” this morning is like “Adama”. The Samaritan woman, like “Adama,” has largely been rejected by her society. Even so, Jesus meets her individually at the well, and all by himself. Why would Jesus meet this woman all by himself? Why would Jesus go to a woman that has largely been rejected by her whole society?

          Further, as this time in history, men and women did not generally interact alone unless they were family members, or the woman was the man’s wife. It was generally speaking very inappropriate for a man and woman to be alone together in the ancient Jewish culture, and some other cultures, as well. This was the case, because one could assume the wrong thing, if a man and a woman were together alone. Further, Jesus was a Jew and this woman was a Samaritan woman, of a different religion. I can imagine that this Samaritan woman, the “woman at the well” was startled that Jesus meet her at the well.

          Maybe she thought, “why is this man at the well talking to me? Surely, he knows that this is not appropriate”. Yet, Jesus goes to the rejected and largely despised woman at the well. Imagine what it must be like to be so rejected and so despised? “Adama” from the “Mercy Ships” story knows this feeling well, and maybe in different ways so do we.

          Now don’t get me wrong, the woman the well was not perfect, she made mistakes, as we all do. Jesus was not affirming these mistakes, but was instead showing his mercy and compassion. This is why my sermon title for this morning is called “Jesus Went To The Rejected!” Last Sunday, a wealthy and social prominent Pharisee named Nicodemus came to Christ at night, and was saved by Christ. Today, Christ goes not to the top of the societal later, but instead to the bottom.

          In the gospels, Jesus goes to all manner people. Jesus goes to the lepers, to the sick, to the rejected, and to everything else in between. Jesus is not telling us to live wrong, to harm others, or to be sinful, but he is saying that his saving grace and his love is for everyone. Jesus is staying that he is the savior for all the world. Jesus died for every person that we have ever laid our eyes on, and for billions that we will never lay eyes on. Jesus came for us all.

          This makes me think of our scripture for this morning from Psalm 95, that says in 95:6-7:

⁶ O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! ⁷ For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand (Ps. 95:6-7, NRSV). 

          Jesus came for all of us, and this morning “Jesus Went To The Rejected!” So often in the gospels, when Jesus healed someone or restored someone, he would tell them to that their faith has made them well. In our reading for this morning from Romans 5:1-11, we hear once again, starting in Romans 5:1:

5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us (Rom. 5:1-5, NRSV).

          What will save the “woman at the well,” the Samaritan woman, this morning in our gospel of John 4:5-42 reading? The answer is, faith in Christ. What saves us all? Faith in Christ. What transforms us and restores us? Faith in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are reminded in fact, this morning in Romans 5:8

 ⁸ But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8, NRSV).

          Jesus came and died for all us, and we can all be saved through turning from our sin and our brokenness and believing in Jesus Christ.

          In getting back to our gospel of John 4:5-42 reading for this morning, we know that Jesus, a Jew, meets the “woman at the well,” a Samaritan woman. We also know that this was culturally and religiously not appropriate for Jesus meet this woman alone, and vice versa. Yet, as my sermon title says, “Jesus Went To The Rejected!”

          In the beginning of this reading, the gospel tells us that Jesus was tired out from his journey, and that he sat by the well of Jacob, or Jacob’s well, to rest. It was about noon or 12:00 PM and the “woman at the well” came to draw water. Most people would not want to draw water at noon, as it was hottest time of the day. Most people would likely draw water early in the morning when it was cooler.

          In picking up in John 4:7, a Samaritan woman has come to draw water from the well in the middle of the day, or 12:00 PM. Starting in John 4:7, it says once again:

⁷ A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ⁸ (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) ⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) ¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ¹¹ The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹² Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” (Jn. 4:7-12, NRSV).

          It seems clear that Samaritan woman at the well is startled to see Jesus, and also startled that he asks her for a drink of water. The Samaritan woman challenges Jesus’s request for water, and Jesus explains a little about who he is. The Samaritan woman then asks Jesus how he could claim that he is the Messiah and has living water. In fact, Jesus then says, picking up starting in John 4:13, once again:

¹³ Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” (Jn. 4:13-15, NRSV).

          I would seem that this point that Jesus has gotten through the to the Samaritan woman at the well, and that she is hearing him. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that the water he can give her will cause her to never thirst again. Taking this literally, the Samaritan woman asks Jesus for this water, as to never have to go to the well ever again. Jesus of course though is talking about spiritual water.

          In response to this, Jesus challenges the Samaritan woman at the well with the reason why she is so rejected and shunned. Jesus says, picking up starting in John 4:16, once again:

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” ¹⁷ The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” ¹⁹ The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet (Jn. 4:16-19, NRSV).

          Jesus challenged the Samaritan woman, and how she was living. We don’t know her background story, but Jesus brought it to her attention. The Samaritan woman does not seem offended though, but instead seems shocked and amazed that Jesus knows all about her. After a little more conversation between the Samaritan woman at the well and Jesus, Jesus tells this woman that he is the Messiah, the savior. In fact, picking up in John 4:25, it says, once again:

 ²⁵ The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” ²⁷ Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” ²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ²⁹ “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”                     (Jn. 4:25-29, NRSV).

          The Samaritan woman, the woman at the well, believed in and on Jesus Christ, and she was changed forever. A woman rejected, became a woman spiritually reborn. The African girl “Adama,” became like new, because of the organization “Mercy Ships”.

          Jesus’ disciples then encourage him to eat some food. Jesus then tells his disciples that he has his own food to eat. Jesus however, meant spiritual food to eat. Jesus explains that we need to be feed with and reap spiritual food. We need to save souls and transform lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.

          Further, after the Samaritan woman, or the women at the well returns to the city, the scripture says, picking up in John 4:39, saying once again:

³⁹ Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of his word. ⁴² They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world”                           (Jn. 4:39-42, NRSV).

          So, the Samaritan woman, the “woman at the well,” like the little girl from Africa “Adama” is changed forever. She is no longer rejected, she is changed in Christ, and now she is leading other people to Christ. Jesus came for us all, and this morning we have a great example of how “Jesus Went To The Rejected!” May we do the same! Amen.