Introduction to the text:
I want to once again give an introduction to our gospel text before we read it. Hopefully that will alert our minds to what is coming and help us to understand it better. Ideally John 9 would a text that is not followed by a sermon at all. (You won’t be so lucky though!) For the text itself is intended for the reader to identify with its dynamics with no interpretation needed. Much of John’s gospel is that way. It provides its own interpretive frame. In any event, I will speak to it at least a little bit.
People often ask of the Bible, “Did that really happen?” Easy question. Tough to answer. Some will simply say, “Yes. The Bible says it. It literally happened that way. Don’t ask any questions.” Perhaps the opposite view is that the Bible is a collection of old legends and myths from the past; that at best can teach some morality, but is ultimately not particularly authoritative.
Lutheran thought is willing to wade into the murkiness of the space in between. It is God’s divinely inspired word, yes. But as to interpreting it, that is complex, for the Bible has many contexts and uses many means of truth telling. For example, each of the gospels is written to different communities of faith. Each author has his, or potentially her, own way of communicating.
John’s gospel employs a technique used in ancient Greek plays and dramas. That technique is to never have more than two characters on the stage at the same time. Thus, ancient Greek dramas are a series of dialogs. If you think back about what we’ve read in John’s gospel thus far you see this. We had Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus and the religious leaders. Jesus and the disciples.
In what we’re about to read there are several characters: Jesus, the disciples, the Pharisees, a blind man, his parents, and a crowd of neighbors. Notice that the characters come and go but there’s never more than two on the stage at once.
There’s also tension, confusion, and some comedy; much like any good play that you’d watch. Is that the way this historically played out? Unlikely. But this is John’s technique of telling us about Jesus based upon his evidence.
So, enjoy this story. It is very entertaining. And realize that you are learning about yourself and about Jesus without even knowing it!
Sermon:
I promised I wouldn’t preach long on this text and I won’t. But there is something very powerful in it that is worth noting. This is not unique to this part of John’s gospel, but it is at work here. It has to do with judgment.
Many people envision some great future judgment day where each person stands before God and gets basically a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Of course you want to be in the thumbs up crowd! But that’s not how it’s envisioned in John’s gospel. For John’s gospel judgment day is the day you encounter Jesus. For regardless of whatever future judgement there may be, it is ultimately irrelevant. If you’ve encountered Jesus and decided to follow, then you’re a follower and already saved. If you’ve encountered Jesus and decided not to follow, then you are staying in your sin and taking the consequences. And those consequences do not necessarily mean damnation. That whole concept, while popular in some branches of Christianity, isn’t all that developed in the Bible.
In the blind man’s journey from physical blindness to spiritual sight, we are able to watch as someone comes to the light and is given new life. In the Jewish authorities’ journey from physical sight to spiritual blindness we watch as they close themselves to the light and place themselves under judgment. Ironically it is the religious leaders who present themselves as the judges of others who ultimately judge themselves!
For us who want to live out what we learn from John’s gospel, what does living in the light really look like?
There’s nothing new here. It is putting into action what we believe about Jesus and ourselves. But when I say belief I don’t mean intellectual facts about Jesus. I mean, believing that God is ultimately loving and gracious. And believing that God made you to have a value that cannot ever be taken away; not by anyone else, and not even you. And also a value that cannot be enhanced by someone else. Sure, you can learn and grow and increase your capabilities. But you cannot change your value before God.
Perhaps put in your mind regularly a reminder that you are a child of God who lives in the light of God. What are other people’s opinions of you? …based on things like your wealth or your clothes or your brains or how smart your life decisions have been?
Sure, let’s be honest with ourselves. All of those things are powerful motivators. We want to be liked. We want to look basically successful. It’s embarrassing if we feel we’re looking bad. We’re going to work really hard to be liked and look like we’ve got it together in life. Perhaps we’re not vain or shallow or anything like that. But we still have social acceptability as a big driving force in our lives. It feels good when we feel like we are successful and fit in.
But I’d suggest all of that is darkness. All of that is building our sense of worth based upon the world’s standards. It’s precarious and it’s not true.
The religious leaders were worried about technicalities of the law. They were worried about being in control of things and having everything be orderly according to the world as they knew it and had built it. But they were blind.
The blind man, receiving his sight and eager to know more about what God is up to, was living in the light. He truly was free!
Living in God’s light is being freed from the world’s judgment, and sharing the news of that freedom.
No comments:
Post a Comment