‘A man asked Jesus a question:’ “Who is my neighbour?”‘ (Luke 10:31)
Who do we think of as our neighbours?
‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your mind…’ (Matt.22:37)
Does this describe our love of and for our Lord? Can we honestly say yes?
Bible Readings: John 9:1-38
Last week we thought of how people might say that some of the things that we see happening in the world today are a sign of the times we live in – one of these well known phrases that we here all the time. What about – everything happens for a reason. Or, what’s for you will not go by you. Or, what will be will be. Are these the kind of mantra that we live our lives by today and if so where does the question of faith come into all of this. How does the relationship we have with God apply to all of this.
Our passage this morning begins with Jesus seeing a man born blind and the disciples asking a seemingly silly question – at least it might seem silly to us today. Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents. But silly as this question might seem to us, it made perfect sense to them at that time. Where many believed in a kind of first century version of instant karma…of direct punishment for sins. Kind of, everything happens for a reason.
In his response, however, Jesus focuses on how God will respond and in so doing, takes the focus away from trying to find out why this happened and instead focuses on how God will work in this situation. And that’s something we need to remember no matter what we see happening around us. In ways that we might not be aware of or imagine, God will be there at work, through individuals, agencies or whatever. God will be there…
All too often in this passage we focus on the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees, for obvious reasons. However, there are many other things that we can take from this passage.
This has happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life…
Jesus answer to the disciples when they ask whose sin was to blame for his condition seems controversial to say the least. Because for some the implication here might be that God actually set up a man to be born blind, in order to teach the rest of us a lesson.
Now that’s huge, because if that applies to this one scenario here, where else might such an argument be applied.
Needless to say, however, that’s not what Jesus was really saying here. God did not make it so this man was born blind, that’s not God’s way. The harsh but simple truth is quite simply that, as human beings, we are all, each of us, born fragile or flawed in some way. And by the same token, we each have our own innate characteristics and qualities.
In years gone by there is no doubt that many may have believed that some of these may have been because of sin on someone’s part. That’s not the case, but by the same token, nor is it the case that God has allowed these things to happen in order to teach us some kind of lesson.
The truth is, that however we were born, God’s works can be revealed in and through us.
All to often, as human beings, the reality is that we need to believe that everything happens for a reason. Things don’t just happen, there has to be a reason behind everything. However, whilst that may indeed be true in many instances, the problem arises when we feel the need to define precisely what that reason is.
Whereas, rather than keeping looking for such a reason, what we should be doing is sometimes just simply accepting that we have no idea why things happen and turn out the way they do. But that even so, still we are able to look and see how God is at work in these situations.
Because when we learn to look for the hand of God at work, in all and every situation, we are then able to anticipate God’s healing and grace in every situation. And that perhaps leads us into another lesson that we can learn from this passage.
Are we not at times guilty of refusing to question certain things by closing our eyes, and our minds, to new perspectives. And in so doing avoiding so much of what we might discover in life. But more than that, is it not the case that when we refuse to see things, or choose to see things incorrectly, not only do we run the risk of hurting others, very often those closest to us. We are also in grave danger of allowing our ‘blindness’ to impact negatively on our faith. Whereas if we keep our eyes wide open and are willing to see things as they are, we are able to see life in all its fullness and discover a real connection with God and with others.
In our passage the presence of the healed man before them negates any and every argument that the Pharisees could possible put forward with regard to Jesus healing. But they refuse to see what is directly in front of them and maybe this is something that we need to be wary of…
How often do we fail to see what is directly in front of us. How often do we fail to see and accept the hand of God at work around us.
This passage, and indeed the whole of John’s Gospel, seeks to reveal Jesus as God’s chosen one, the one whom God sent for every one of us. The revelation of God Himself. And in so doing it seeks to inspire faith in Jesus Himself rather than just the miracles He performs.
And the blind man is, if you like, the model which we are to follow…
Not because of the physical miracle of the healing itself, not because this man goes from blindness to being able to see. But because he is able to see Jesus for precisely who and what He is.
Amen.
‘God’s angels rejoice and celebrate over one person who is sorry for their sins.’ (Luke 15:10)
Do we come to God in repentance confessing our sins and saying sorry for what we have done?
‘ Master, teach us how to pray…’ (Luke 11:1)
How important is prayer to us? Is it part of our daily life? If not, why not?
‘How many times must I forgive someone who does me wrong, Lord…’ (Matt. 18:21)
How forgiving are we?
‘For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’ (Luke 19:10)
Have we allowed Jesus to find and save us?
‘Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a child will never enter it.’ (Mark 10:15)
What did Jesus mean by this statement and what does it mean to us?
‘Suddenly Bartimaeus could see clearly and he set off at once to follow Jesus.’ (Mark 10:52)
Do we see Jesus clearly in our everyday lives or do we allow thinks to cloud or obscure our vision of Him?
Bible Readings: Exodus 17:1-7 John 4:1-26
Perhaps more than at any other time in our life, it is in the aftermath of some disaster or tragic event that we stop to think about those things that really matter to us – and how many of those have we have in the last few years. We don’t even have to have been directly touched by the tragic events themselves. Just knowing about them and the terrible suffering, pain and loss of life they have brought about and suddenly we think more about our own loved ones.
And there may even be further consequences as a result of these reflections – both good and bad. But the most dramatic moments in any of our lives will all be followed by the need to go, the next day, and somehow move on with our lives. With all those everyday, mundane but essential task
Like going back to the well to draw more water from it…
It’s difficult to imagine exactly what the woman at the well initially felt in her encounter with Jesus at the well. It must have actually been quite a shock for her – having Jesus tell her about everything of importance in her somewhat complicated life. But note that Jesus doesn’t blame her or anyone else for what’s happened in this woman’s life, He just tells it as it is. And in many ways, that takes us to, what for me, is the real key to this story.
So much of this story is metaphorical and uses a great deal of parenthesis in an attempt to explain what all this means. And let’s not forget that at this point in time, there is still so much misunderstanding on who Jesus is – even within His own Disciples. However, the Samaritan woman herself is smart enough to engage in conversation with Jesus about the water. And perhaps it was something of a pleasure for Jesus to talk with someone who catches on so quickly. Indeed, He even reveals to her that he is the Messiah.
The disciples don’t understand Him. They don’t get that He is speaking in images when he talks about food – things like saying He is the Bread of Life. They don’t get him at all. But this Samaritan woman appears to.
Indeed, as we read later in this chapter she goes back to the city, illuminated by her short conversation with Jesus and she spreads the word. And she must have done so with an air of conviction and certainty because the people then go out to meet Jesus – and He stays and wins hearts and souls.
And that is where perhaps we find what many would say is the main purpose of this story – to highlight for need for evangelism. Going to share our experiences with Jesus with others. And of course there are many lessons on evangelism that we can take from this passage. However, there are many other lesson we can take from it as well.
The very next day that woman would need to go back to that well to get ordinary, every day water for herself and whoever she was living with in her house. And even although Jesus would tell her the hour was near. The fact remains that we are still waiting and the work of being alive goes on – day after day.
Life goes on – it always has and it always will. Even amidst the tragedies and disasters that we are part of or hear of and even although we can scare imagine how – life does go on. And somehow we have to try and find away to cope with that life and all that it throws at us. Even, or perhaps, especially, when living in the aftermath of some tragic event.
Of course it’s never easy but still the every day tasks, like going to the well to collect water are still necessary. Yet all too often we lack the energy or the enthusiasm. All too often these mundane duties no longer seem to be as important. How can they be in light of whatever has happened…
But the thing is, once we lose enthusiasm and energy, once it gets to the point that things no longer seem important to us. Once we get to that point, we begin to lose our faith. And when that faith goes, any hope we might may have had of a brighter future, begins to fade – to drain away from us…
Which is why we need to keep coming back to drink of that water…not the ordinary, every day water we find in the well, but the water of life we find in Jesus. Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst, said Jesus…
But even at this point there is still one more lesson for us to remember.
Before Jesus offers the woman at the well his living water He first of all asks her to give him some water from the well. Even as he offers to her something more valuable than she can possibly imagine, He asks of something from her. You could say, give and take.
And that’s the kind of relationship God wants from us…
He wants us to trust Him with all the everyday things of our life. All that we are and all that we do, each and every day, God wants us to hand over to Him, to trust and believe in Him. To accept His Son as our Saviour – and in return He will give us life eternal.
Now you might think that this shouldn’t be that difficult. It should be as easy as giving Jesus some water in the way that this woman did. Why shouldn’t we trust Jesus with our lives every day. After all, did He not give his life. His whole life for us. Why not, indeed.
Yet some might argue that this suggests Jesus love is in some way conditional and so consequently our salvation is conditional. Is this not saying that if we don’t trust Jesus with our lives then we will not be saved.
Well, the short answer to that is no – and yes.
No Jesus love was not – is not – conditional. God gave His One and only Son for every man, woman and child on this earth – for now and all times. No exceptions, no conditions…
But we need to accept and receive that love…
Remember John 3:16, ‘…for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that and all who believed in Him would not perish but have life eternal. All who believed…
But here’s the thing, if we are not willing to trust Jesus with our lives, how can we say we believe in him – and if we don’t believe….
But if we do believe – ‘…the water I give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life…’
Amen…