Words for Worship
Ministry Today
John 9.1-12
A radio critic recently
absolutely slated
the new American detective series
called of all things –
‘the mentalist’.
Apparently it’s the sort of nonsense
where an off the wall sleuth
can pick up a used tea bag
and say
I see your favourite colour is blue.
But this is the stock in trade basis
of this type of drama.
The lone maverick detective
is always a brain box
working with
a complete set of cart horses.
Needless to say
they cannot see
his brilliant logic
and are sceptical of his powers.
Moreover, as these dolts
are always proved wrong –
episode after episode –
it seems
that they are not only
dull as dish water
but that they have memories of hens
as well.
But you know
in a strange way
we do the same repeatedly
in our relationship with Christ.
For, even when we know
he has solved our problems
constantly in the past,
we still doubt his abilities now.
And the reason for this scepticism
is easy to explain.
Because just like
the thick supporting cast
to Hercules Poirot,
Morse or Sherlock Holmes
we are applying
our own inadequate logic
to what is before us;
we perceive things
in a blinkered way
and we jump
to our own flawed conclusions.
In a way, then,
we are as blind
to what is really going on
as our sightless beggar
in our lesson today.
And this is never more so
when we allow ourselves
to slip into
that slough of despondency.
The times in our lives
when we see others
enjoying what seems
a charmed life
and we are not.
Those moments
when we feel bogged down
in a tiring myriad of trivia
and each day
descends into a cheerless drag.
Worse still,
those overcast periods
when we feel swamped
and have a growing dejection
at ourselves not measuring up.
What then to do?
Well we need to carefully note
how our blind man
came across his healer.
Because - if we think about it –
he did not need to measure up.
Since he did absolutely nothing
to find his healing;
quite the opposite in fact.
His healer found him.
All he did was obey
the command of Christ –
in his case to wash his eyes.
In return he saw
with a joy
that was not of
his making or deserving
or even understanding.
And what unbounded joy
it must have been.
For he was liberated
from his disability –
he was restored
to a better view
of what was he was able to do
and he was open
to fulfilling his full potential.
Yet this isn’t too surprising.
For some years ago,
the great boxer,
Mohammed Ali,
was asked by a ghetto youth
how he could quit school
and start a boxing career
since he had bad exam grades.
Ali smiled at the young man
and said in his poetic fashion:
"Stay in college and get the knowledge,
And stay there!
Til you're through
Cause if God can make penicillin out of mouldy bread,
He can make something out of you."
Nevertheless, if we read on
in the story
of this once blind man
we hear,
that after his cure,
life still had its ups and downs.
Because shortly
after regaining his sight
he was rounded up
by the Pharisees and interrogated.
Therefore, even as his initial joy
turned
to a prolonged enjoyment of life,
other problems arose
not of his or Christ’s making.
But this time our bibles
tell us
that he was better equipped
to cope
and he was more confident
he would weather the storm.
In fact, he found
he that now had
a far far stronger faith
in the power of God.
So much so,
when Christ
once more appears in his life
and asks –
do you believe in the son of man –
he can see his way
to replying
without reservation –
I believe!
Well within the blind man account
is the antidote
to those debilitating times
when the whole world
seems against us.
For, it gives us
firm clues
as to how to counter
to those negative feelings
that prevent us
meeting our full capabilities.
Its narrative is an object lesson
in knowing the future
with the same confidence
as we know the past.
Even better,
John chronicles
the way to prepare ourselves
this lent
for the joy after crucifixion
which is the very meaning
of resurrection.
Since, provided
we are still ourselves
long enough
and truly expect him,
then the risen Jesus
will cure
our gloominess.
Not only that but
he will do so
despite our plodding logic
that infest our minds
with doubt,
worries and disbeliefs.
He will do so
no matter
how narrow the horizons
that we have inadvertently
set ourselves.
In all honesty,
he will do so no matter
how deep the pit
we have shovelled for ourselves.
Because, Christ’s cure
always brings
in its wake
a fuller blossoming of faith
and hope
even against the visible odds.
For as the hymn writer says:
I know not here his islands lift
Their fronded palms in air
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond his love and care.
There is an unusual account
of how the news
of the Battle of Waterloo
reached England.
The report
from the battlefield
back home
in those days
was first carried
by sailing ship
to the southern coast
and then by signal flags
to London.
And when the report
was received at Winchester,
the flags
on the cathedral
began to spell out the message,
"Wellington defeated."
And then
before the message
could be completed,
a heavy fog rolled in
and with that heavy fog
the gloom of a nation
filled the hearts of the people.
But then,
when the mist began to lift,
it became evident
that the signals
of the Winchester Cathedral
had really spelled out
this triumphant message.
"Wellington defeated the enemy!"
Too often then
when we find things
are neither going our way nor
to our liking
we forget
that incomplete signal.
For it is times like those
we allow the future
to be coloured
by our own self concocted logic,
own sparse knowledge
and our blind suppositions.
As a result, our true grasp
of the situation
is no better than
Captain Hastings,
Doctor Watson or Sergeant Lewis.
However if we remember
the blind man
we can again
believe that a cure is possible.
All we must do
is to trust God
in the midst of transition and conflict.
We must let go of resistance
to his touch.
And we must release ourselves
again
into His hands.
For you may not see him,
but God is for you,
God is with you
and God will see you through.
All we need
Is to say to that fact
those two simple words –
I believe.
Amen
Offering
HYMN……………….
Clues to healing