John 9,1-7. The 8th Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

John 9,1-7   3813

8. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  053     

Praxedis, Virgin, † 129       

21. Juli 2013

1. O God, whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth; we humbly beseech Thee to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things which be profitable for us (The Book of Common Prayer, 8. Sunday after Trinity).  Amen. 

2. As Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him: „Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, so that he was born blind?“ Jesus answered: „It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must perform the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is approaching, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.“ Having said these things, Jesus spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then He anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him: „Go, wash in the pool of Siloam“ (which means „Sent“). So he went and washed and returned seeing. 

3. Jesus says that His Christians are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5,13-14). Jesus is the Light of the world, therefore we are salt and light to the world. Jesus exhorts His Christians to let their light shine so that people see those good works and give praise to God the Father (Matthew 5,17). Jesus shone His light upon a blind man, healed him and people praised God for this miraculous good work. 

4. Except the Pharisees. They were mad that Jesus did a good work on the Sabbath, the day of rest (9,14). Some of them said Jesus is not from God the Father (9,16) and that He was a sinner (9,24). The Pharisees were concerned about the law, their traditions and legal interpretations. They criticized Jesus for not following their strict precepts. They accused Jesus of forsaking Moses (9,28). The law is clear: Saturday is the day of rest and no work was allowed on that day. Period. 

5. Along comes Jesus scattering His salt and shining His light in the dark places. He finds a man born blind, a man stigmatized as a horrible sinner (because God must have surely cursed Him with his ailment as punishment for some vile sin he had committed) and blind. The blind man was separated from God and His grace. That’s what the Pharisees taught. Even Jesus’ disciples buy into that worldview. How often do you lament that you are sick or suffering because God is punishing you for some sin you did? How tortured is your conscience as you fret over those sins. How many of us here today nod our heads in agreement with the Pharisees in their assessment of the blind man through the lens of the law? 

6. Jesus has a different worldview. Jesus sees the situation from heaven’s perspective and its lens of the gospel. This man was not born blind because he or his parents had committed some horrible, unforgivable sin. No, this man was born blind so that God could do something wonderful to him. This man was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him. This man was born blind so that Jesus could find him, heal him and show him and many others the light of salvation. For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8,28). That is what the Apostle Paul teaches. 

7. What Jesus does for this blind man He does for you. He found you like He found the blind man. You were oppressed and condemned by the law and left rotting in the darkness. Jesus seasoned you with His salt and shone His light upon you. Jesus is the Light shining in the darkness, and from His light springs forth thousands upon thousands lights to illuminate the world

. You, and all Christians, are those individual points of light and you guide your neighbor to Christ. Thus, the Anglo-Saxon poet Kynewulf describes Jesus this way: „Hail Morning-Star! Brightest Angel sent to man throughout the earth, and steadfast splendor of the sun, bright above stars! You illumine with Your Light the time of every season

“ (Kynewulf 104-08). Kynewulf is reflecting the light of the Psalmist who proclaims Jesus: »O Yahweh, with You is the fountain of Life; in Your Light we see light

. How precious is Your steadfast love! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights« (Psalm 36,9.7-8). 

8. Jesus is your Life and Light; He is your salvation. Today He exhorts you to be salt and light to the world. A lighthouse exists to give a visible warning to sailors so they do not run aground in inclement weather. A lighthouse alerts ships that they are close to land. Jesus tells all Christians: You are a lighthouse. People are journeying and searching for God’s kingdom. You shine forth the light of Christ showing them that the land of God’s kingdom is close by. Don’t wreck your life by following another savior. Don’t pass by God’s shoreline in the dark of night or the fog of suffering. Ignore the Sirens’ call, as tempting they may be with their philosophies and ideologies, for they, masquerading as angels of the Light, seek to call you away from God’s shoreline. Jesus is close at hand; let me show you where He is and let me tell you about Him. Jesus is found in His church and He died and rose for you as your Savior. By being such a lighthouse you are shining forth the very Light of Christ; you are bringing salvation into their midst. Be the salt and the light; give people Jesus and His gospel.  Amen. 

12. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Your Name is glorious, shine upon us Your loving kindness and faithfulness so that we are certain of Your love and forgiveness toward us.  Amen. 

Christ crucified and risen for you 

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

Kynewulf, Crist. Copyright © 2000 In parentheses Publications. Translation © 2000 Charles W. Kennedy.

Lewis, C. S. The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics. Copyright © 2000 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.