pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Reflect the Light of the World

Reading: John 9:1-23

Verse 5: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Photo credit: Savvas Kalimeris

In this week’s gospel passage we continue with the themes of light and dark, of good and evil. The disciples notice a blind man and they ask Jesus, ‘Who sinned?’ Going against the Jewish understanding Jesus says that no one sinned. The man is here to display the power of God. Jesus proclaims that “the night is coming.” He is alluding to the evil that will rise up to orchestrate his crucifixion. It will be a time when his disciples and followers will go into hiding. It will feel as if darkness has won. Continuing on, Jesus says, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Right now, Jesus is alive. It is time for the light to shine.

Without any prompting, Jesus makes mud and applies it to the man’s eyes. He is sent to wash in the Pool of Siloam and he emerges with clear vision. The man shares his good news with all who ask – “the man they call Jesus… mud… wash… then I could see.” He tells neighbors and acquaintances and he tells the Pharisees. All are divided but the evidence speaks for itself. The man who was healed now reflects the light of the world to one and all.

Today I ask: How has Jesus healed you? Did he heal some blindness that hindered you? Did he root out some sin that held you captive? Did he heal a hurt in your heart? Did he restore a relationship or situation? What did Jesus do for you?

The blind man encountered Jesus Christ, the light of the world. He was forever changed. His good news was, ‘I was blind but now I see.’ Mine is, ‘I was lost but now I am found.’ Others may be, ‘I was broken but now I am whole.’ We who have encountered Jesus all have good news to share. May we too reflect the light of the world with all that we meet.

Prayer: Lord God, oh how you have changed my life. You’ve shifted my focus from me to you and to others. You’ve turned my greed to generosity, my pride to humility. Now, I’m far from who you want me to be. So I ask that you would continue to love me anyway, that you would continue to shape and form me into who you want me to be. All for your glory, O Lord. Amen.


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A Faith Story

Reading: John 9: 1-25

Verse 25: “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see”!

The gospel lesson for this week reads like a short story. There are lots of twists and turns. The story begins as the disciples bring a blind man to Jesus’ attention. They want to know whose sin caused the blindness. Jesus shares that there is no one to blame. He tells them that the man was born blind so that “the glory of God might be displayed”. To facilitate this happening, Jesus makes some mud, places it on the blind man’s eyes, and tells him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. In Jesus’ day the pool would have been used for ritual cleansing. Miraculously, the man can now see.

Because the healing occurred on the Sabbath, an investigation begins. The man is brought in and questioned. He explains what happened. The Pharisees are divided: “No one holy would heal on the Sabbath”… or… “No one could heal if not holy”. They ask the man for his thoughts on Jesus: “He is a prophet”. The parents are then brought in to verify that this is their son and that he was indeed born blind. They confirm this but will not venture into speculating about Jesus. They are afraid of being put out of the synagogue.

The man who was born blind has no such fears. The religious leaders state, “We know this man is a sinner”. They want the man to go along with them. He does not. The power of his healing is greater than the power of control that the religious leaders are trying to use. All he knows is that this man put mud on his eyes and healed him. He says to the religious leaders, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see”! He acknowledges this simple truth about Jesus. It is his personal experience. It will become part of his testimony and part of his faith story.

Thinking of our own faith journeys, when has Jesus brought healing to you? Whether it was physical or emotional or spiritual or relational, we have all been touched by Jesus. Our experience is part of our story, part of our faith journey. Ponder your line: “I once was ___ but now I ___”.

Prayer: Lord God, I once was stuck living in the world too. I once lived for popularity and the approval of man. Now I find my trust and my contentment in you. Thank you for setting me free. Amen.