Listen and Watch Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, March 22, 2020
Jesus and his disciples were walking along when they see a blind man begging on the street. The disciples ask Jesus an offensive question: “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” This is the age-old question: Why? This is the oldest question in the Bible. In the book of Job, he questions God why he is suffering. He says, “What did I do to you…? Why have you made me your target?” (Job 7:20). It’s the last question of Jesus while he suffers on the cross: “My God, my God, why—why have you forsaken me?” Today we find ourselves as humanity facing the same global epidemic, the novel coronavirus Covid-19. The disciples looked at a man born blind and had the courage to ask. “Master, help us make sense of suffering.” “Why do bad things happen?”
Jesus could have scolded his disciples. What a horrible view of God! How dare they suggest that such hardship is due to sin? Would God punish newborns for their sins in the womb? Would God use the guilt of the parents to inflict suffering on their children? Jesus answers their multiple-choice question—who sinned? (a) The blind man (b) His parents—with (c) none the above. “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” It’s not the answer they ask for or want. It’s the answer they need. “He was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” Though you do not see it now, God will reveal his work. Though you may not perceive it now, God is going to show up. Jesus promises good will come. He gives them hope in uncertainty.
What Jesus does next is bizarre, gross, and unsanitary. He spits on the ground. He retrieves his saliva united with the dust of the ground. He spreads its muddy mess into the blind man’s eye sockets. He tells the man to go and wash. And when he does, he can see. It reminds me of how we started out Lent—with ash and olive oil made into mud—no saliva I assure you! We smeared it on the foreheads in the sign of the Cross and said, “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” We were reminded of our mortality but also of the One defeats our sin, evil, and death on the Cross. It was a seasoned Pastor who once said, “When God blesses, things often get messy.” Perhaps it’s during times of greater uncertainty that hope and faith best emerge.
“We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). Because of this man’s blindness, we begin to see God work. God works in spite of the hardened hearts of the religious authority. He works around his parents who seem all too willing to throw their son under the bus. God works through the testimony of this man. I so admire his authenticity. When interrogated, he says, “I do not know” over and over again. He says, “I don’t know who the man who healed me is or where he came from or where he went. I don’t know how he did it. I don’t know why. All I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” What a powerful message! “I do not know.” I think it is the kind of humility and authenticity that should come out of our mouths when we talk about our faith. As the Irish rock band U2 says, “We need to get over certainty.” In their song “Stand Up Comedy” the lyrics say, “I can stand up for hope, faith, love But while I’m getting over certainty Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady.”
We are to give an answer for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15)—not the certainty that eludes us. Nor do we need to be God’s defender, or prop him up with eloquent philosophy, or pretend that there are easy answers. “One thing I do know,” says this ancient beggar, “that though I was blind, now I see.” That is the joy we have—to simply share how our lives have been impacted by Jesus. We have witnessed the works of God. We don’t have all the answers. We don’t need to give the world certainty. But we can give hope—especially to a world experiencing suffering. Those same hands that smeared spit and dust into the eyes of the man born blind are the same hands that created all humanity out of the dust of the earth. God is the Potter. We are the clay. He re-creates us from the bottom up. He makes all things new.
We have asked God to give humility, kindness, and peace to our leaders here in this city, state, nation, and around the world. Perhaps it’s through this mess spread into our eye sockets that we will see ourselves as one, global community. Never has it been more clear just how woven together and interconnected we all are around the world. China, the epicenter of this disease, is now sending test kits and protective gear to Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France. Neighbors call and offer to get groceries for their elderly neighbors. How much more of an opportunity do we have as a church family to love our enemies and our global neighbors as ourselves.
We asked God to help our declining attendance in worship. God’s answer for the moment: not numerical growth but devastating decline—no one in attendance. Every pew is empty. Physical quarantine and distancing—it is not the answer we wanted. But we are already seeing the answer we need. Through holy Baptism, we wash the mud from our eyes and begin to see the world around with the eyes of the children of God. There is a growing realization and gratitude for community and social connection.
We have this epidemic smeared in our eyes. But our eyes are being opened to just how priceless being a community of faith is and how indispensable it is to be church family. As the psalmist says, “How good and pleasant it is for sisters and brothers to dwell together in unity!”(Psalm 133:1). We really do need each other. I can already feel and hear the joy that is coming when we can shake hands again and say, “The peace of the Lord.” I can already taste and see the joy we will share when we hand out the bread and wine—when we receive Christ’s true Body and Blood which assures us body and soul of forgiveness and life everlasting. We have the same hope of the man born blind thousands of years ago. No matter what is smeared into our eyes in the days ahead—through the uncertainty of it all, we will see that God is good…all the time. He is in the business of opening our eyes to the beautiful works he is doing all around the world.
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