"The Truth Is Not Blind"

March 26 2017  John 9: 1-41

Since the beginning of time, humans have been trying to blame or qualify the presence of evil in our world by pointing a finger at someone’s sin, be it past or the present.  In Genesis 3 of the bible, we have heard it said that sin entered the world through temptation, maybe it was the snake, or was it the women Eve.  Why of course it was the women right MEN!  But wasn’t there an Adam, and how does he fit into the scenario.  Surely he too should take some responsibility for evil entering into the world?  In some religious circles today I might be considered balmiest for suggesting that God might have even set the these unsuspecting humans up with addition of giving them a choice, free will we call it.   May I suggest that in order to live fully human, God new we needed that addition of “The School of Hard Knocks” because wisdom, insight and learning do not come from living life on our terms, they come from the mistakes we make in doing so.  God new also that we would need more than just words to teach and guide us.  So God provided a New Testament for the Christian, a visible example to follow in the life and times of Jesus the Christ.

Now think about this for a moment folks.   It wasn’t until God said “YOU MUST NOT” eat of the tree in the middle of the garden that awakened curiosity, which by the way is the foundation on which the School of Hard Knocks is founded.   Couldn’t this be the moment when all our troubles actually began?  Now I ask you, what generally happens if a parent tells you, “YOU MUST NOT” do something.  I’m almost sure he or she will attempt to find a way they can.  Even if it gets them into trouble, right!   It seems strange that God would all of sudden bring to their attention a tree in the middle of the garden.   Surely Adam and Eve must have walked by this tree hundreds of time before and apparently without any special interest in it.   In fact the fruit on that tree apparently wasn’t even attractive, until God said “YOU MUST NOT EAT”.  Do you see what I am trying to illustrate here.  It’s not about SIN it’s about the lessons. I am also trying to illustrate that our attempts to assign blame or responsibility for my or others personal circumstances, kills the lesson that can set me free from my circumstances, otherwise I become a prisoner of my circumstances and learning nothing.  Let us remember that the Lenten season is a time for us to look inward to discover the truth about ourselves, it’s not about blaming God or your neighbor for your lot in life and blame will not teach you a better way of living.  Crap happens! Especially if I am not paying attention.  You probably had, as I did, a good elementary school teacher who told you that, but didn’t listen either. Now if you didn't chuckle at that you probably won't get much from the rest of this article. 

In our reading today about “the man born blind”, the disciples ask Jesus this question, “Rabbi who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind”.   In other words his disciples believed that this man blindness was punishment for some committed sin, it could have been the sin of an ancestor, a parent or some sin he possibly committed himself.  Jesus’ answer must have shocked them and challenged this belief and the religious teaching of the time, because sin was, and still is today for some at the core of their biblical teaching,  Genesis 3.   Many people today still believe that people who are afflicted with some disease, addiction or death are being punished as they deserve because of some sin in their past or it has coming down the genetic line from someone within their family.   Genetic  mapping may prove some of this to be true but “punishment as deserved” by an unconditional loving parent, questionable to say the least.  I think the saying “we are our own worst enemy” might be more to the truth. 

What is Jesus’ reply, John 9: 3 {GNT} “His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents' sin. He is blind so that God's power might be seen at work in him.  Does not the apostle Paul tell us that it was in his weakness that God power would be manifested? So then, if I  become preoccupied looking for someone to blame for where, who or what is happing in my life, I will never clearly see the works God does in and through me, which are not confined or tethered to sin or circumstances. Nor will I begin to learn the lessons in how to really live.  Why, because it is both in the valleys and on the mountain tops of living that the God’s handiworks are revealed.  At this very moment Jesus is offering to heal the brokenness of your world and your life, to heal your losses, or help you transcend your personal circumstances.   I believe Jesus was trying to show his disciples and us that, this kind of preoccupation with others and their sins can delay or stunt, yes, even prevent us from living the good life as He reveals it to us.  

John goes on in the story to show us how this preoccupation with sin, religion, religious doctrine, ritual , personal predigest, self preservation and fear can impair people, no matter how educated they may be, from seeing or even wanting to see the truth about the world around them and THE TRUTH ABOUT ONESELF.    

The community fails to recognize the blind man.  This is a small community and this man was blind from birth, lets face it folks, everyone would know who this blind man was.   Why would they refuse to identify him right away?  It would appear that fear plays a major part here.  For anyone to up hold or acknowledge the truth about Jesus as the healer might upset the religious rulers and the authorities of the day so they choose to protect themselves by denial.  Denial is another one of the deceptions that keep us in bondage and stop us from learning how to really live.  Denial keeps the addict addicted but it can also keep his or her partner or family in bondage if they also refuse to acknowledge their addiction to enabling the behavior.  Denial is a major stumbling block to right living as this illustration so classically shows us.     

Here the religious authorities who would be responsible for spiritual training failed both community and the man.  Instead of rejoicing in celebration of his healing they accused him of lying about his blindness.  They know he was born blind yet refuse to admit to it, and then they accuse him of becoming a disciple of this despised prophet, the one they call Jesus.   Even the blind mans parents out of the fear of being banned from the synagogue failed him, saying “don’t ask us, ask him he is of age, he can speak for himself”.   The only trust worthy figures in this story are the blind man and Jesus.   The man insists on telling the whole truth about himself, even in the face of threats, abandonment and expulsion from his religion and the synagogue, he truly is the only one in his community that is free.    “I was blind but now I see.”  Again and Again and again he witnesses to that truth.  Jesus tells the truth as the works of God are revealed in him for all who have the eyes to see, yet none of them see.   Now I ask you, who is really blind here?    The question that comes to my mind today is this.  How much truth am I willing to share with my God about myself in order to begin living as I am called to live?  You see the real lesson is it not about believing this story as fact.  It’s all about learning the lessons that this story can teach me, so I can begin to really live.     

I don’t know if you noticed or not but no one except the blind man and Jesus are experiencing the great joy of living with the truth.  And because he never gave in to denial, in verses 35 to 38 the young man finally realizes who Jesus is for him in verses 35 to 38 .  So I ask ”Who is Jesus for you”?        

"A Way To Live Or A Way To Believe"

March 19, 2017 Lent 3   Psalm 95, Romans 5: 1-11, John 4: 5-42

Jesus uses the life giving commodity of water to catch the attention of a Samaritan women at Jacobs well which was located just outside the village.  As we all know water is the critical source of life in all of the universe.  May I also suggest that unconditional love is the critical source of all that has been created and its universal teachings can be found within all religions of our world?    

It was called Jacobs well because it was located on a property that was owned by Jacob an important figure from the book of Genesis. {That's part of your homework folks who was Jacob?} Did you know that Jacob’s well, where Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink and offered her the living water still exists today and lies in the crypt of a modern Greek Orthodox church at Nablus in the West Bank.

This women would be a complete turnaround from the character we were introduced to in last week’s lesson.  Nicodemus whom Jesus makes time for was a well-educated and respected Pharisee and teacher of Judaism.  Here he makes time for a Samaritan. This is very significant because it is a women and women in general, especially this woman, had no status within her community because all women were considered at the bottom or lowest in stature next to a Child.   She was uneducated, had a shameful past and was being accused of living in sin.  In fact the time of day that she visits the well {noon} might suggest to us that she didn’t want to be confronted with possible gossip about her from the other women from the village.   Most wanting to fill their water jugs would have either come to the well in the cool of the early morning or the cool of the evening, not during the hot midday.  She was a questionable Samaritan women of mixed race and certainly not worthy of male conversation let alone to have a Rabbi ask her for a drink.    In fact no respectable man would be caught talking to such a women at least in broad daylight because she was known to have been with many men none of which were her legal husband.   But this doesn’t stop Jesus from making company and taking time for her within his day.  In fact these two opposing stories, Nicodemus and this woman are one of those biblical moments where Jesus’ spiritual teachings on both discrimination and inclusiveness can be observed.   It also should spark for us a personal question and I challenge you to consider this:  Who in your community does this women represent today and do I participate in gossip? 

One characteristic of the woman is that she is almost totally an outsider.  She is just a women in a man’s world for sure, insignificantly unnamed to centuries of readers.  The community would have probably seen her as socially deviant, unacceptable and probably ostracized by them.   Here again we need to ask ourselves a question?

When was the last time I, you or this church made room for someone on the outside?  More so, who is it that would be looked upon as questionable in your eyes?  Recently I was listening to a speaker who was being asked why the Buddhist tradition has become more popular with the younger non churched generation than the Christian tradition.  What is it that is attracting them?   His answer was that the Buddhist tradition teaches a way of living, while the Christian tradition teaches a way of believing.  I think this is critical point.  For the Christian it seems to be more important to emphasize a belief in Jesus and what He teaches than to actual practice His teachings by living them.  The spiritual practice of living the beatitudes takes second place to believing the beatitudes within most Christian denominations.    I am afraid to say that this just might be the truth and something we need to begin reassessing within our tradition.  It just might make us, more attractive to those who are looking for a spiritual home.  “Pass Me Not Oh Gentle Savior”

Have you ever considered this folks:  What makes a person an outsider to your circle of friends, your group, or community of faith?  Even the best of community groups or Spiritual gatherings or religions, even though they have good intentions, often do not see themselves as being or becoming exclusive.  Nor do they see themselves as indulging in gossip but to the outsider, that is not always so folks.  One of the greatest litmus tests to this blindness is to watch how well their group makes time and space for someone new or something new that might change the status quo.    

Being considered a gift-less nobody would be a heavy label to wear wouldn’t you agree? But folks, many, whom you would never think, feel this to be their lot in life.  When I ask people this question: “what gift has God graced you with” most struggle with seeing themselves as graced by God, let along gifted?  What appears to be an outgoing person, is often a person who feels alone in a crowd, not worthy, or feels left out.   This biblical story should illustrate for us some challenging news: That a-nobody in our eyes is always a-somebody in the eyes of Jesus.  It should also illustrate for us that believing in Jesus is not as essential as living the way He has shown us.  In fact we just might learn from our Buddhist sisters and brothers as they too know many of the universal love teachings taught by Jesus.  Within His teachings there is no winner and looser, no we and them, no dual between the right and the wrong.  In Him there is no discrimination when it comes to who He encountered.  Jesus makes the statement in John 4: 22 that salvation will come from the Jews, the people whom God chose to bring the good news to all people.  We must note here, that he does not say salvation will come from the Christians.  Why, because Jesus wasn’t a Christian, and the fact is that Christianity was not birthed in Jesus’ time.  His followers were only known as “People Of The Way”.  Jesus taught “a way of living.”  Isn’t it ironic, because that is exactly what the commentator said about the Buddhist tradition?  They center their spiritual traditions and teaching on “a way of living.”  In fact many theologians claim there is no evidence to suggest that Jesus came to establish another religion.  

It seems sad to say but it appears that many of the religions in our world have become exclusive, Christianity included.  May I suggest to you that Jesus as the risen Christ is universal and no religion has exclusive rights to Him or the salvation He offers, for God’s grace is sufficient for all?   

 Teresa of Avila {1515 – 1582} writes:  

 “Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours.  Yours are the eyes through which to look at Christ’s compassion for the world.  Yours are the feet with which He is to go; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.  Christ has no body here on earth but yours”  

    

                                                "We Are His Hands"

"Born Again?"

March 12, 2017 Readings Romans 4: 1-5, 13-17, John 3: 1-17, Psalm 121

If any character from the Bible can be regarded as representative of a twenty-first century church member, it is probably Nicodemus because he was considered a well-respected Layman.   In many ways he was sympathetic to the Jesus’ movement, His teachings and he was curious enough to meet with Jesus personally for conversation.   He was a successful self-confident Pharisee, who plays a leading layman’s role in the leadership of the Jewish religion.   Let us remember here that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and so this would lead Nicodemus to be open to consider anything Jesus might have to say around the resurrection.  He was curious enough that he makes an appointment to meet Jesus face to face.   It seems strange that Nicodemus arranges the meeting to be in the evening but we can see that he was not ready to announce a public meeting with Jesus.   He is a practical thinker and so he struggles with Jesus’ metaphor of being born again.  Nicodemus finds this metaphor difficult to comprehend because it isn’t logical.  He follows a faith that uses rules and laws that are rational, but we know today that Jesus illustrated best in parables, metaphors and the use of oxymorons.   A key note for us here might be this:  Nicodemus is a powerful Layman who is not prepared to accept Jesus into his personal life just yet.    For this reason may I suggest that he represents many modern day church goers, those who sit in the pews on Sunday mornings but are not ready either to let Jesus enter their lives on a daily basis, at least not yet.   

This being the Lenten season, a time of self-reflection and personal house cleaning, a question that comes to my mind is this:  Do I really trust Jesus, have I invited Him to come into my life as my mentor and guide or is my curiosity the true attraction as it was for Nicodemus. 

For two centuries most of mainline Protestantism has encourage this behavior and attitudes.  It is through no fault of our own that we have pushed religion into a private sphere, seeing faith as appropriate for family and personal morality, but inappropriate for public display.  Nicodemus  goes to visit Jesus late in the evening, because he is not ready to have his face to face encounter made public.  This is not to say that you shouldn’t at times be private about your faith folks, but may I suggest that keeping it this way, makes faith incomplete.   We are told by scripture not to hide our light but to put it out on a lamp stand for others to see.  There is strength in community and by sharing our faith together we will help guide others to Christ.    So then what about the “born again” statement made by Jesus, what is your perspective here, how do you understand being born again? 

One of the popular interpretations is this :  You must be a born again Christian to be saved and to enter the kingdom of heaven.   For many in the Christian church that has been a standard interpretation.  With this interpretation comes the urgency for some denominations to push the acceptance of being born again as the entry point to salvation, heaven and an eternal life.  The suggestion is:  if you are not born again, you are not saved and therefore you will be going somewhere else, certainly not to heaven.  This interpretation reads the text as a commandment issued by Jesus, but this is not the only interpretation offered from this passage.    There are Christians who do not hear this metaphor as a commandment from Jesus, they read it differently and hear it as an invitation for transformation.  In being awakened or transformed we will begin to “SEE”  the Kingdom of God which by the way Jesus also tells us is at hand. Meaning it is here.    There is good reason for this interpretation because in verse 3 of the text, it does not use the word enter, nor does it say heaven {read it from your bible folks!} I read it from the Good news now hear it from the NIV:    Jesus answered “I am telling you the truth: no one can SEE the Kingdom of God unless he is borne again”.  You should also take note here that the word heaven does not appear in the text either.   The King James version is worded exactly the same.  In fact this is one of those rare moments when all the different versions of the bible agree. 

 The word enter doesn’t show up until you get to verse 5:   “ I am telling you the truth”, replied Jesus.   “no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit.  No mention of heaven or hell in any of his statements.  Jesus continues in verse 6 saying :  “a person is born physically of human parents, but you are born spiritually of the spirit.   

Hearing Jesus’ words in this way, may for you as it did for me, change my understanding of the “born again” transformation.    My personal interpretation of the text is this:   That Jesus tells Nicodemus that there are two births one physical where you are aware of the fact that you are a child of human parents, and one Spiritual when you truly accept and recognize you are a child of the Creator, then you enter the Kingdom of God which by the way is not in the future but as Jesus claims the Kingdom is at hand.  I believe this spiritual re birth transforms and awakens you to the truth about the Kingdom of God, about Jesus and about who’s we really are.   I believe those who are born of the spirit begin to glow, a knowing of who their true parent really is.  This knowing gives you a clearer understanding of the wonder and preciousness of being one of Gods children.  In the Kingdom of God we remain a child until death.   In this Kingdom of God which is a mental construct not a physical destination we begin to really learn from our pain and mistakes.  Even as the storms of life continue to rage all around us we begin to feel and understand just what the peace that passes all understanding is.  With gratitude filling our hearts we see that true joy does not require happiness nor can we rely on our human love to see us through.   God is now always at our side, in our hearts and on our minds guiding and mentoring us as true a parent should.  Because we are spiritually reborn we know this to be the truth, and we know that Jesus is the way to this Kingdom.    All who enter finely know the Triennial God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit and know themselves as a Child of their creation.   The metaphor is surprising provocative because it seems irrational to Nicodemus and to many of us.    This cannot really happen physically and Nicodemus give voice to that reality in the text.  In this sense the invitation to a physical rebirth is literally impossible, but in the form of a metaphor it can open up our imaginations to reconsider our relationship with God which is central to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.    During the 40 days of lent it can be your opportunity to be born again folks, which in turn allows the Spirit to be awakened in your life.    This rebirth of the Spirit makes us aware of the truth about our world, about ourselves and about God, our only real parent.