Notes for the Message Based on John 9:1-42; “A” - E4

Scripture readings for this week are: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23 or UMH 137; Eph 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
You can read these Scriptures here:   NIV  //  CEV  //  NRSV  // The Message

Mother Theresa used to say, "I know that God won't give me more trouble than I can handle ... but sometimes I wish God wouldn't trust me so much." I am pretty sure that the blind man whom Jesus healed in today’s Gospel reading could relate to that.

Can you imagine how tough it must have been to continually explain what happened and how he was healed; being accused of doing something wrong when in reality all that man did was receive healing from Jesus. Throughout the reading we hear this man continually explaining who Jesus is, and we can hear his understanding and his testimony as they develop. As a result of receiving sight and being mistreated by his own people, we observe his faith and his understanding of God develop until they culminate in the statement of faith.

When questioned by his neighbors, we heard him say, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see” (John 9:11). What he basically said was, “this man healed me, he is a talented doctor.”

Later when questioned by the Pharisees, he was asked whether the healing happened on Saturday. He replied, “He [- Jesus] is a prophet” (John 9:17), which is different from being a doctor.

 

Still, more questions were raised. This time Jesus was accused of being a sinner because he healed on the Sabbath. At that juncture the man said, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.” (John 9:25) “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (John 9:33). He actually defended Jesus.

 

Finally, Jesus and that man met for the first time since the healing. That was the first time that the man actually saw Jesus. In the course of that conversation we heard the man say, “Lord, I believe” (John 9:38). That is a confession of faith.

 

As the story progressed, this man’s understanding started with “Jesus healed me, he is a talented doctor” and ended with “He is the LORD and savior, I put my trust in him.”

In her book The Kitchen Table Wisdom, Dr. Remen recalls a story out of her medical practice that happened at Sloan-Kettering in the mid-1970s.

 

There was a man who came into the hospital to die. Back then, the hospice movement was not common and frequently people were admitted into hospitals to die. A man riddled with cancer was admitted to die. His treatments were stopped approximately 11 months ago and there was nothing that medical science could do to heal him anymore. His bones looked like Swiss cheese. Cancer was throughout his entire body. However, in the two weeks or so that he was in the hospital, his cancer disappeared and even his bones began to heal.

 

Dr. Remen recalls how FRUSTRATED all the doctors were. Think about it: there were not in awe of the healing that they witnessed, they were frustrated. Second opinions were thought out (copies of X-Rays were sent out to many other leading authorities) and the original diagnosis was confirmed. The only conclusion that the doctors could come up with was that the chemotherapy that was stopped 11 months earlier suddenly worked.

Dr. Remen writes: “For the next 15 years I never questioned this conclusion. I think too great a scientific objectivity can make you blind.” She continued: “I think that that was one of the purest encounters with mystery that I have ever had in my life.”

 

It took Dr. Rachel Remen fifteen years to recognize the healing touch of God on her patient. In today’s Gospel reading, the man born blind made a similar recognition of God’s presence in his own life.

 

The doctors at Sloan-Kettering were frustrated with their patient’s scientifically unexplainable healing. They were so focused on “why” their patient was healed that they completely overlooked “what” happened – their patient was healed. Similarly, in today’s reading, the blind man’s neighbors, family, friends and religious leaders were frustrated with the man’s unexplained healing. That is why they were questioning him; that is why they were trying to understand how Jesus did it… They completely overlooked what Jesus did, and by doing that, they were blinded to who Jesus was.

 

Just like that, we can also be blind to the presence of the Holy in our midst. Today’s Gospel reading teaches us that Jesus is with us always, giving us opportunities to heal our spiritual blindness and to recognize God in our lives and the presence of the Holy all around us.

In the mid-13^th century (between 1244 and 1253), Bishop Richard of Chichester, wrote a prayer that was popularized in our culture by Stephen Schwartz in the musical GODSPELL. Richard of Chichester prayed, “Most Merciful Redeemer, may we know you more clearly, may we love you more dearly, and may we follow you more nearly every day of our lives.”

 

That prayer acknowledges that we don’t become mature Christians instantaneously; it is a gradual (and at times very uncomfortable) adjustment and reorientation of every aspect of our lives. It is a process and a journey that takes time. For the man healed in today’s Gospel reading this journey began with, “Jesus is a doctor” and ended with “Jesus is my Savior.”

 

Today I want to leave you with a question – Where did your journey begin? Where are you at on your journey? How is your understanding of God’s presence in your life different than it was when you were 15, 25, 40, 50, or even 60 years old? How did you grow in your faith and how is this growth is evident in your life?

 

To remind us that God is with us on that journey, Jesus established the Sacrament of the Holy Communion. Today we will celebrate this Sacrament.

 

{Transition into the Holy Communion}

= = = = = = = God is my conscience, Jesus lives in my heart = = = = = = =

Currently Pastor Asher Tunik is serving at Christ United Methodist church located in Chestertown, MD.
Pastor Asher blogs at Zis-N-Zat; his blog is at this link.

Cool post on Bishop Willimon’s blog…

Here is the link to the post.

Well worth the reading in my opinion. Here is an excerpt:

Today's rapidly changing world is pressing the church to respond to a shift of paradigms—but not for the first time. In previous shifts, the church has both responded slowly and responded imaginatively.

The challenge of change for a congregation on a steady downward slope is precisely to redefine and redirect its mission.

Meaningful, lasting outcomes are the result of the journey …Transition time is life's curriculum.

The Bible is replete with stories of transition and exile. …Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness—alone, hungry numb—and the devil tempts him three times. The process of thinking, testing, and exploring contains the lessons… Only by going out, being there, and seeing from a fresh angle will the process lead to learning.

Again, here is the link to the whole post.

Notes for the message based on John 4:5-42; “A”– L3

This week’s readings are: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95 or UMH 814; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42

You can read these readings here: NIV  //  NRSV  //  CEV  // The Message

 

Today is the third Sunday in Lent and today we heard the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. We know that in first century Palestine Jews and Samaritans did not get along. We also know that in the culture of first century Palestine, men and women generally kept a social distance from each other. That explains why the Samaritan woman was threatened and surprised when Jesus asked her for a drink. She voiced her concerns, and in return, Jesus offered her the “living water” that would lead to eternal life (here is the link to John 4:5-42).

 

Just like Nicodemus, whom we met last week, the Samaritan woman was confused and intrigued by that offer; but unlike Nicodemus, her curiosity propelled her to ask Jesus for that living water. In reply, Jesus tested her; Jesus asked her to call her husband and when she replied that she had no husband, he agreed: "You have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband" (4:18).

 

There is a tradition in some churches to think of her as a woman with a shady past and loose morals. The Biblical text itself does not support that view. We do not hear Jesus telling her to “go forth and sin no more.” Jesus does not invite her to repentance and the word “sin” is not in the reading. In their exchange, Jesus treated her with respect and in return she was honest with Jesus. We know that she was open-minded. We know that she had a strong sense of empathy and that she was able to think for herself.

 

I suspect that she had a difficult and tragic life. She was probably widowed and/or abandoned by some men in her life. Living through that many tragic experiences would be heartbreaking and would harden most people’s hearts. Yet we know that she never lost her curiosity, her trust, or her faith.

The remark that Jesus made about her living with a man who was not her husband indicates that she was living with someone that she was dependent on. An example of such an arrangement would be called a Levirate Marriage and it is commanded in Deuteronomy 25: 5-6:

 

NIV Deuteronomy 25:5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. ⁶ The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

There are any number of ways that we can imagine her story. We simply do not know what it is, but we know that Jesus treated her with utmost respect, that she was intelligent, a deep thinker, open-minded, good hearted and inquisitive.

 

We also know that she was profoundly changed by her encounter with Jesus. Immediately after Jesus described her past, she said, "I see that you are a prophet" and wanted to discuss religion with him: “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

Last week Nicodemus asked Jesus how a grown man or a woman can get back into his mother’s womb and be born again. He was trying to wrap his brain around the information that Jesus was giving him. Nicodemus was trying to break God down to manageable pieces that he could relate to and understand.

 

By contrast, the Samaritan woman, whose name we do not know, made an affirmation of faith when she said, “I see that you are a prophet” and asked him a difficult question of faith. By doing that, she demonstrated that she took her faith seriously; she demonstrated that God is as real to her as we are to each other. What she asked was a question that Christians have struggled with for the last two thousand years, “What is church and how do we do church?” That is recognition of Jesus’ identity and a powerful confession of faith (Lose).

 

In response to her question Jesus did not argue theology with her. Jesus did not answer her question about whether it was appropriate to worship on Mount Gerizim or on Mount Sinai. Instead, Jesus offered that woman himself, Jesus offered that woman relationship with God, Jesus offered her the “living water” of faith.

The impact that Jesus had on her was so overwhelming that she jumped at the chance to share the good news with all her neighbors. For that reason, some traditions honor this nameless woman as the “first evangelist” because of her eagerness to share the message of Jesus and his offer of the “living water.” Some traditions even give her a name: Eastern Orthodox tradition refers to her as Saint Photina (the same word root as in word “photosynthesis”), Russian Orthodox tradition refers to her as “Saint Svetlana” – the bearer of light (Bellan-Boyer).

 

So what’s in it for us? How can we apply all that to our lives as we live them in 2011, as we journey through Lent and as we are working to re-imagine what our community could be.

The movie The King’s Speech was released in 2010. It is the story of King George VI of Britain (known as Bertie to his friends and family), his unexpected ascension to the throne of England, and the speech therapist (Lionel Logue) who helped the reluctant monarch to overcome his speech impediment and to become a statesman able to lead the country through the horrors of the war with Nazis and post-war reconstruction.

There is an episode where Bertie and Lionel are practicing for the coronation. We see Lionel Logue (the speech therapist) sit down on the throne of England. Bertie says to him:

Bertie: Get down! You cannot sit there! Get down!

Lionel: Why not, it is just a chair.

Bertie: It is St. Edward’s chair.

Lionel: It is just a chair...(pointing to the back of the chair) Look, people carved their names in it.

Bertie: Listen to me, listen to me...

Lionel: Why should I waste my time listening to you?

Bertie: Because I have a voice.

The whole movie is about Bertie finding his voice. “I have a voice” was a strong statement for a man who stuttered through most of his life and was deeply ashamed of his disability. By trusting and working with Lionel Logue, Bertie was able to find his voice and to become the King of England not only in the title but also in who he was.

The point that I am making is that just as Bertie found his voice through his encounter with Lionel Logue, so the Samaritan woman found her voice and dignity through her encounter with Jesus.

 

In his interaction with the Samaritan woman, Jesus teaches us that the way we relate to others can build them up or it can rob them of their dignity and ability to deal with life’s challenges. Hers is a story of the transforming power of love, the capacity to receive that love, and the ability to live into her new identity by reinventing herself (Lose).

 

That unnamed Samaritan woman was a bearer of light. She joyfully carried the good news of eternal life in Jesus Christ – the “Light of the World” – to her neighbors. Because of her Jesus stayed in that village for two days and many men and women had an opportunity to spend time with him.

 

Today I want to leave you with a few questions:

• What is your voice and how does it reflect your connection with Jesus? Who helped you to find your voice?

• How do we carry the light of Jesus to the world around us as a church and as individuals?

• How do we spread the wonderful news of Jesus beyond the walls of our church?

• How do we live the great commission to make disciples?

May God bless our efforts and our journey!

 

Works Cited

Bellan-Boyer, sa. City Called Heaven. 11 03 2011. 25 03 2011 <http://citycalledheaven.blogspot.com/2011/03/he-told-me-everything-i-have-ever-done.html>.

Lose, David. Misogyny, Moralism and the Woman at the Well . March 2011. 25 March 2011 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lose/misogyny-moralism-and-the_b_836753.html>.

The King's Speech. Dir. Tom Hooper. Perf. Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth. 2010. <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004R36QUE/ref=atv_feed_catalog&tag=imdb-amazonvideo-20>

= = = = = = = God is my conscience, Jesus lives in my heart = = = = = = =

Currently Pastor Asher Tunik is pastoring Christ United Methodist church located in Chestertown, MD.

Pastor Asher blogs at Zis-N-Zat; his blog is at this link.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

- Luke 9:23-25 (New International Version)

As I have reflected on the state of the world and the state of my spirit throughout these days of Lent, I have been awestruck by the amount of death in this world. Death from earthquakes in New Zeeland and Japan, death from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Libya, death from illness and famine and peril and sword, and death from self destructive behaviors that invade our neighborhoods like a plague out of the Middle Ages. I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach almost every time I read the news that we are not OK and that our best efforts to build a society that is good and benevolent have made things even worse. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday only reinforce these thoughts. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” are said as the sign of the cross is made in ashes on the hands and foreheads of believers, signifying the inevitability of death in our world. Even Jesus, the most innocent human in all of creation, was subjected to death—a death he did not deserve.

Then I think about the Good News. In the midst of this very troubling year, there is something at work in this world that death can never overcome, the ultimate power of Resurrection. There is nothing that can die that cannot be raised. God has promised us that and sealed this covenant on the third day. Death is never God’s final answer. The question for us is do we really believe this? On an intellectual level, I’m sure that we do. We know that God is calling us into a glorious future, but in our gut, do we really trust God enough to stand up to the evil power of this world with love instead violence and increasing hate? Do we really trust God enough to stand up to the sin in our own lives and own up to our failures instead of running from them? Do we trust God enough to give our lives so that others may experience resurrection with us? The world is constantly selling us death, are we buying?

While death comes in all kinds of forms, so does resurrection. Embrace the Easter promise. Embrace the cross and the empty tomb. Walk in the difficulty and hardship of this world and know that God has always been and will always be able to redeem it. God bless you on your journey to resurrection.

May the joy and love and hope of Easter be with you always!