Yesterday was my last Sunday in Northwest Iowa, and I preached this sermon
at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Terril, IA and Christ the King Lutheran
Church in Spencer, IA. I served a vacancy for 1 1/2 years at Immanuel,
Terril during my time here, and this was my chance to see the people one
more time. I will be leaving on Wednesday to be installed at Trinity
Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN on Sunday. Pax, +cdk
St. John 9:1-41
Your lives are bound up in Jesus. Sometimes you might think to yourself that
you don't feel as though you belong to Jesus. Let's face it, sometimes the
thoughts we have don't exhibit godliness. Sometimes our tempers don't
demonstrate requisite godliness. Even our actions sometimes lack a holy
disposition. Nevertheless, your life is bound up in Jesus. This being the
case, hopefully you recognize your sin and faults and come crawling back to
Jesus.
For, as St. John tells us, Jesus comes to people who are lacking and He
brings fullness. Jesus takes imperfections and He fixes, He heals, He makes
whole. The young man in the account was blind from birth. In a nutshell, we
are told that Jesus heals the blindness of this man and gives him his sight
for the first time. In a sense, Jesus gives light to the eyes of the blind.
Now, it is important to note that when you see miracles done by Jesus in the
Gospels, at least two things are at play: first, a miracle is a signpost
that Jesus is God in the flesh. The consummation of the ages has come to
fulfillment in the midst of the people and the miracle highlights this
reality. Second, there is a spiritual message that Jesus is trying to
impress upon the disciples who will someday go out and preach and recount
these things. The miracle is meant to teach something to those who will hear
the account. Hence, we, who hear the gospel today, are to get something of a
spiritual nature out of the whole event. What are we to learn from Jesus
healing this blind man?
It is significant that Jesus says before the healing of the blind man that
"I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is
coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of
the world." Jesus speaks of day(the time of light) versus night(the time of
darkness–when no one can work). Likewise, Jesus says, "As long as I am in
the world, I am the light of the world." This eternal light Who dwells on
the earth in the flesh is such light that He brings light to the eyes of the
blind.
How does Jesus work? In terms of miracles during His earthly life and
ministry, Jesus does the physical miracle of healing in order that the
onlookers will then believe the more profound miracle that Jesus can forgive
sins and bring light to dark and blind eyes of the soul. Jesus means to
teach the onlookers that bringing physical sight to the blind (which is the
lesser of the two miracles) is demonstrative of the fact that He can give
spiritual sight to the spiritually blind.
It would have been better for the Pharisees if they had marveled at the
physical miracle and perhaps had learned something about Jesus. As it was,
however, they were caught up on the physical dimension. In fact, their minds
were so convoluted that they were not even marveling on the physical
miracle. They were stuck one step prior to that: They were focusing on when
Jesus did this thing: on the Sabbath. Jesus broke the Mosaic law of the
Sabbath, now He must pay the penalty.
If the Pharisees had only been using their Christological and Messianic
lenses, which interprets all the Bible and is the key that unlocks Christ's
words and miracles, maybe the Pharisees would have been able to discover
that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Sabbath–He is our eternal rest, the
eternal day of peace and contentment. Sadly, though, it isn't just the
Pharisees who were offended. This young man who was blind and received his
sight had parents who were afraid of the Pharisees.
When asked about their child and his blindness, they responded, "He is of
age; ask him. He will speak for himself." To speak contrary to the laws of
the Pharisees was to invite disgrace, and it also meant that he who spoke
against the laws of the land would be cast out of Jewish society and treated
as if he were dead. Such a person who be considered spiritually and socially
extinct. This is the hint to the disciples, as well as the church of all
ages, that he who speaks on behalf of and in defense of Jesus Christ as the
light of the world, shall face hardships and difficulty.
Anyone who has taken this Christian faith and life seriously will attest to
the difficulty of being a Christian in this world. If it isn't our own
thoughts and actions trying to bring us down, then it is often others who
try to deter us from living humbly and resolutely in this Christian church.
Even in the church, there is this constant pull to go beyond what the
scriptures teach. Even in the church, people desire other things and lose
the Christological lens that is so important for understanding who we really
are.
The Pharisees said it: The blind man is Jesus' disciple, but they are Moses'
disciples. Moses wrote and taught with the Christological lens. He was
pointing people forward to Christ. While the Pharisees missed it, the blind
man understood. His miracle of receiving light to his eyes ended up giving
light to his soul. From darkness to light, the blind man was bound up in
Jesus, and the more the Pharisees doubted and questioned Jesus, the more
resolute and firm in the faith the blind man had become. When the Pharisees
first questioned the man about who Jesus was, the young man cautiously said,
"He[Jesus] said 'He is a prophet.'" But as the questioning went on, the
young man soon began preaching to the Pharisees about Jesus being from God.
What are we to learn from this? Jesus is the light of the world and He came
bringing the light of revelation. This revelation is found in the Holy
Scriptures. It brings light to the eyes of faith. The church sprouts and
grows from it. Keep in mind that Jesus is the Word made flesh, so the church
is like a garden which grows from Jesus. The church's life is bound up in
Jesus. Without the incarnate and enfleshed God, Jesus Christ, there can be
no life, no spiritual light but only darkness.
Jesus brings forth this light and people will either take hold of it and the
eyes of faith spring to life, or people will rebel and get caught up in the
things of this world and miss the light. For example, people get caught up
in denying the real presence in the Lord's Supper: people say how can Jesus'
true body and blood be in, with and under the bread and wine? How can there
be such a thing as the real presence? They get caught up on something and
miss the important point that Jesus says, "take eat, take drink, this is my
body, this is my blood...for the forgiveness of sins."
Such people forget that the Holy Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit had
this put down for all times. It is truth, don't question it. It is like the
miracle of bringing sight to the blind. Jesus, the light of the world, comes
under bread and wine in the midst of the holy assembly in order to lighten
our eyes of faith. The eternal light is upon the church and before it when
it gathers to receive the Lord's Supper.
A blessing isn't meant to be questioned...it is meant to be received and the
spiritual light of Christ transfers us to the kingdom of blessedness. Jesus
says in our text, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the
world." And what does Jesus institute before His death? But the Lord's
Supper, wherein Jesus promises to come into the world under bread and wine
in order to shine His light unto His blessed people.
It is true that we live in a world of spiritual darkness, and it will always
have people who get hung up on trivialities when Jesus is simply trying to
bring light to their souls, but for those who are watching in meekness, it
will bring light to their souls and with that light comes a healing
property–not the healing of our bodies or physical infirmities, but the
light of Christ heals our souls of the stains of sin.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven, and you are that
blind man who once sat in darkness but now sees the marvelous light of
Christ that shines upon you through the holy word and the precious sacrament
as you live out your new life through holy baptism and eating and drinking
Christ's body and blood. Go in peace, in His forgiveness as you dwell in
Christ's light filled with love, mercy, and the promise of the resurrection
to come. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall, Pastor-Elect
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
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