A Lord's Day Message for April 3, 2011

(Message © by Rev. Larry A. Langer, First Presbyterian Church, Jasper, IN, April 3, 2011)

“Seven Who Encountered Jesus: (4) The Man Born Blind”

Ephesians 5:8-14 and John 9:1-41

“His disciples asked him, ‘Who sinned, this man or his parents, the he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.’” (John 9:2-3)

Where we left Jesus and the disciples last week, the men and women from Sychar were going out to see the man who had changed the town’s “woman of shame” into a “woman of forgiveness.” The last statement made in the text about this day in the life of sinners was 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!”

I made the comment that it seemed that the disciples were also beginning to “get it,” because they didn’t question Jesus about going through Samaria in the first place, didn’t ask any questions when they came back to the well and found Jesus with the woman, nor had anything to say when Jesus taught them right then and there about how “the fields were ripe for a spiritual harvest.”

So, we could assume that the disciples would be really moving along in their faith. Apparently, this is not so, because just five chapters later, we get the recollection of the day Jesus and the disciples were walking along and encountered “the man born blind.” If we remember what the woman at the well said about worship and what Jesus said in return can be applied here.

The woman, drawing on her history, said, “Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus responded with, “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.”

The key phrase here is “you worship what you do not know; we worship what we know.”

Now, let’s get back to today’s story. The disciples thought they knew what to ask Jesus as they were walking along that day in Jerusalem. They wanted a theological answer to a physical question. They wanted to be able to put into a nice little box and tie up with a bow, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, the he was born blind?”

Perhaps this is the first question we ask when a baby comes out handicapped, or is diagnosed “Down’s Syndrome,” or “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” “Who sinned?” “What happened”? “Who screwed up?” “Who do I sue?”

I will always appreciate Dr. Ruff here in town when Peter was finally diagnosed with his malady. You know that all along we thought that Peter was ADHD. We thought all along that Peter just need more discipline. And, actually as we were considering whether or not Peter may have a gene that would make him amoral – inhibit his ability to know right from wrong – we discovered his chromosomal defect that is put under the title of “Klienfelter’s Syndrome.”

This is not an “amoral gene.” It is a genetic issue that causes delayed development, super height, a large girth, and possible sterility. As Peter has aged, he has been able to mature, has been able to begin making good and wise choices, has been able to be more of the son parents would like to have, a “normal kid,” if you will.

But applicable to today’s text is what Dr. Ruff said as soon as he received the results back from the genetic testing, and even before we asked, although we were probably thinking it. Dr. Ruff said, “Please do not blame yourselves for Peter’s genetic disorder. We aren’t sure why the genes came together like they did, but we are pretty sure that neither of you are at fault. Don’t spend time trying to figure out the cause or who to blame. Spend your time and energy on raising your son as best you can.”

We could sit around all day trying to answer the question the disciples asked Jesus: “Who sinned; this man or his parents?” “Who sinned; Peter or Larry or Martha?” But Dr. Ruff and Jesus said, “That’s not a question that needs to be asked. Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born the way he was so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”

In the blind man’s story then, Jesus spit on the ground, made mud, placed it on the man’s eyes, told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam (which means, “He who has been sent”). “Then he washed and came back able to see.”

In Peter’s story, we have worked with the school, the Southwest Dubois Community Schools Coop, the doctors, the counselors, and SIRS and the BDDS to get Peter where he is today. He is a good and valued employee at Pizza Hut. He has been hired to work at the new Wendy’s in Dale. He is going to fill out apps in other places for a full time position. People really like him at the Hut and other places.

Even my mother, who really couldn’t stand to be around him, is now complimenting him on how nice, polite, helpful and funny he is. All the folks at my mother’s retirement place like him. Peter can never be healed from Klienfelter’s, unless Jesus comes along and changes his chromosomal make-up. But Peter can be brought along to enjoy a good life, even a productive life.

That is, unless like the man born blind but who now sees, we keep dwelling on trying to figure things out, especially keep trying to figure out the sin involved. Jesus sees a blind man and thinks about healing him. Jesus’ disciples (and us) also see the blind man and immediately begin a theological discussion with, “Who sinned?”

You see, it is our human thinking side that would have us try to explain sadness and tragedy – we want the rational explanation. If God is good and righteous, then if there is bad, then the bad must be punishment for our badness, right?

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast four years ago, a State Senator from Alabama said that it hit where it did because Mississippi and Louisiana had legalized gambling, that God had sent the hurricane to punish those states for their sin.

A preacher in Alabama retorted, “Well, if the Lord was aiming for those casinos, then the Lord needs to improve his aim. The hurricane took out about eight casinos and nearly a hundred Methodist Churches!”

At least in today’s Gospel, Jesus won’t make a direct correlation between sin and a person’s circumstances in life – at least this isn’t what is important to Jesus. What is important to Jesus (and to us) is what he and we are going to do with it and about it. The thing is, unless we are believers in Jesus Christ, we will dwell on the sin, rather than seeing what we can do with the life. If we are believers in Jesus Christ, we will do what Jesus said to do: “Give thanks that God’s works are being revealed!”

I don’t know how much any of us know about the Alcoholics Anonymous program or any of the other 12-step programs that take their foundation from A.A., and that take it all from the Bible, really, but the one thing I have always thought was missing from the 12-step program was a “Celebration Step.”

Now, I have been by the AA meeting that meets here; I have been around other AA meetings that have met in other churches I have pastored. I hear them applauding each other’s testimonies. I hear them applauding a new milestone in their soberness – 30 days, six months, 5 years, etc. But I would think that celebrating one’s sobriety would be one of the 12 steps. Rather it seems that the person going through AA always remains beaten down, sometimes seems to be going through life feeling worthless rather than worthwhile – especially worthwhile as a child of God.

But, I guess, maybe our root problem is thinking too much of ourselves – such as the Pharisees were literally too full of themselves – rather than thinking little enough of ourselves. When we are so quick to judge, so quick to find fault, so quick to discard, so unwilling to even recognize that “there for the grace of God go I,” we are too full of ourselves and not full enough of Jesus Christ.

I don’t really need to remind us we ought to be feeling the empty pangs in our souls today. This is the first Sunday of the month when we would usually be celebrating the Holy Meal, Holy Communion. We haven’t had the bread and the cup to eat and drink for a month now. But we are in the midst of Lent, the “Season of Sin,” This is the season we are encouraged to spend forty days for honest meditation upon our sin, looking forward to Resurrection Day once again, when we can breathe a sigh of relief that we don’t have to live in our sin forever, that we are forgiven because of our faith in the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let me suggest that the twelve steps of AA are useful for us to use as we meditate during Lent:

Step one, we admit that we are powerless over our own lives, over any sin; "the things we want to do righteously we cannot do, and the things we don’t want to do we do – and there is no health in us," says Paul.

Step two, we do believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore our lives to living and being righteous. This Power is God, with the Holy Spirit being God’s power in us.

Step three, we make the decision, as tough as it is, to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understand Him. We may not all understand God the same, but when we believe that there is a Higher Power named God who can handle all, we can make the decision to turn our will over to God.

Step four, we make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. What often happens, though, is we look at the splinter in another’s eye and not see the log in our own. Besides, it is scary and hurtful when we do give credence to the log. We’d much rather ignore it.

Step five, we admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Being Presbyterians, we do try to do this. We have our Prayers of Confession; we have our opportunities to not ignore the things that are wrong in our lives. We can admit the things that are wrong. We can admit them and be healed from them.

Step six, we can be entirely ready to have God remove all our defects of character. It is interesting that step six just says, “We are ready to have God remove our defects of character.” Here is where the “yeah, buts…” come in. We may know our failures; we may feel that we want to get rid of them; but we have to get to the point that we want to get rid of them.

Step seven, has us humbly asking God to remove our shortcomings. And, what are we promised in Scripture? I John 1: 8-9 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth in not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In humility and faith let us confess our sin to God, then.

Step eight, is to make a list of all the people we have harmed and become willing to make amends to them all. Again, we make this list without the “yeah, but…” Be ready to admit that careless word, that crass comment, that unavailability, that embarrassment you caused. Be ready to admit all of them.

Step nine, go do it! Go, make amends to such people wherever possible, except where to do so would injure them or others. Matthew 5:23 says, “When you are offering your gifts at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift…When you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, first be reconciled to them.”

Step ten, keep on practicing steps 8 and 9 constantly.

Step eleven, seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Can we ask for any more than to know God’s will and carry it out?

Step twelve, having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to all others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

As I reminded us earlier, this is the season of Lent. But rather than being dour and somber, it can we a very joyful season. We are sinners, to be sure, but in Christ something decisive and wonderful is being done to heal our sinful state. Martin Luther said that we ought to confess our sin and throw a mantle of charity over the sins of others!

So, during Lent our time is best spent not in theorizing about sin, nor by zealously rooting our the sins of others, but rather in humbly confessing our own sin – perhaps the way we callously walk past those in need on our way to church to worship a God who reaches out in mercy to those in need, the way we can always see the sin of others more clearly that our own sin, the way we get confused into thinking that Jesus is among us as a judge and jury rather than as a Savior and healer. Lent ought to be a time not so much for prophetic, searing honesty about sin, but rather for modesty and for celebration of our God who comes to us and heals us in love, despite our sin.

Praise God! Hallelujah! Amen.